According to court documents dating before the R. Kelly child pornography trial, an “employee” of Kelly’s allegedly threatened to kill the key witness in the prosecution’s case if she “snitched” against the singer by testifying in his trial. No charges were ever filed against the Kelly associate, and key witness Lisa Van Patten testified for the prosecution in the case that found Kelly not guilty of all charges. Van Patten also testified before the trial that another associate of Kelly’s offered her $100,000 for the infamous sex tape.

Following last Friday’s acquittal of R. Kelly, several jury members spoke to the media to discuss why they dismissed charges against the R&B singer. Contrary to the defense’s efforts that Kelly was not in the video because of the missing mole, the jury unanimously agreed that Kelly did in fact star in the sex tape at the center of the trial. However, they didn’t believe that the girl in the video was that then-underage girl that prompted child pornography charges against Kelly. The fact that the girl’s family was split over whether that was the girl or not, and that the girl herself denied it was her, helped fuel the jury’s decision to acquit. The jurors also dismissed claims that they hurried to a verdict because they didn’t want to spend Father’s Day deliberating. However, the outcome of the trial would have been much different had the three alternate jurors stepped in, as was almost the case. The three alternates believed it was Kelly and the then-underage girl on the sex tape and would have endorsed a guilty verdict.

After a less than a day’s worth of deliberation, the jury in the R. Kelly trial has come to a verdict: Not guilty. Kelly was acquitted of all fourteen counts of child pornography as the defense mustered enough reasonable doubt to set free the embattled R&B star.

The jury’s decision didn’t come without drama, however. (more…)

The jury in the R. Kelly trial is now deliberating the singer’s fate, as closing arguments concluded yesterday. The prosecution opted to show the jury the video they’ll be watching constantly during their deliberations: The supposed sex tape starring Kelly and a then-underaged girl. The prosecution also painted Kelly as a sexual deviant who walks around with a duffle bag filled with tapes of his conquests. The defense countered with a bunch of name-calling, labeling witnesses as “extortionists” and “liars,” saying that finding Kelly guilty meant calling the girl “a whore” because of the apparent money exchange on the tape and even going as far as claiming that the prosecution’s star witness — alleged third partner in the threesome Lisa Van Patten — was “Satan.” As with all celebrity trials, it’s hard to gage what the jury will decide. (more…)

With closing arguments set to go down today at the R. Kelly trial, the lawyers from both sides used yesterday to scare up some last-minute drama. First, a VHS-to-DVD transfer of the sex tape almost threatened to mistrial the case, as the transfer resulted in a lower-quality DVD than the original tape. The defense used the inferior DVD when questioning video experts and might explain why those witnesses were unable to see Kelly’s infamous mole. The defense also appealed to the judge yesterday that they didn’t want the sex tape to go into the jury room during deliberations because “The tape can break. It can erase.” In actuality, the defense just doesn’t want the jury watching and re-watching the tape, comparing the man to Kelly and watching for his mole. To appease the defense’s fears, the judge anointed one of the sheriff’s deputies to be in charge of the VCR who will play, rewind and pause while making sure the original, top-quality VHS doesn’t break or erase.

[Photo: Getty]

After two days of testimony that featured twelve witnesses, the defense in the R. Kelly trial alerted the judge yesterday that they were resting their case. Kelly’s lawyers hope the witnesses they introduced in those two days were enough to spark reasonable doubt in the jury’s mind, as they attacked the validity of the prosecution’s most valuable witnesses and attempted to prove that the tape could be faked. However, the defense didn’t call that surprise witness that delayed proceedings a few weeks back. Now, the trial is back in the hands of the prosecution, who will call two rebuttal witnesses to the stand today. Closing arguments are expected to begin on Thursday.

The defense in the R. Kelly trial continued their assault against the prosecution’s case yesterday, calling to the stand witnesses that attempted to cast doubt on the prosecution’s key arguments. The defense called a private investigator who testified that Lisa Van Allen – the supposed third person in the threesome sex tape – and her fiancé attempted to extort money from Kelly by threatening to sign a $300,000 tell-all book deal. Kelly’s lawyers also attacked the prosecution’s argument that the man in the sex tape has a black mole on his back that identifies him as Kelly, calling to the stand a forensic video analyst who said the mole that appears on the video is actually just “an artifact of electronic noise.”

The R. Kelly trial resumed yesterday as the defense began their case by calling three relatives of the girl who is supposedly on the sex tape to the stand. An aunt, uncle and cousin of the girl all testified that the girl on the tape “definitely wasn’t” their relative, even when a photo of the girl was juxtaposed next to a still from the video. So far, seven family members have been called to the stand, with four siding with the prosecution. Kelly’s defense also worked to negate the testimony of Lisa Van Patten, the third member of the supposed threesome on the tape, by calling to the stand a law clerk who testified that Van Patten’s fiancé said she wouldn’t take the stand against Kelly for $350,000.

Also, Chicago Sun-Times music journalist Jim DeRogatis took the stand outside the jury’s presence yesterday but declined to answer any questions, citing his First Amendment right to protect his sources.The judge rejected that argument but allowed DeRogatis to plead the Fifth until he gets immunity from child-pornography charges for copying the tape.

[Photo: Getty]

The jury had the day off, but the wheels continued to spin in the R. Kelly trial. In a court proceeding yesterday, the judge nearly issued an arrest warrant for Chicago Sun-Times music journalist Jim DeRogatis after the writer failed to show up at court. Instead, the judge issued a new demand for DeRogatis to appear today so he can testify about how he came in contact with the sex tape at the heart of the child pornography trial. DeRogatis argues that he should not testify under First Amendment privileges. The writer received the tape at the offices of the Sun-Times back in 2002.

[Photo: Getty]

The prosecution rested their case yesterday at the R. Kelly trial, but not before bringing their most damaging witness to the stand. Lisa Van Allen, the alleged third partner in the sex tape threesome with Kelly and the then-underage girl, testified that she had multiple threesomes with the singer and the teen. Van Allen also testified that Kelly offered her $250,000 in an attempt to recover another tape starring the three of them. According to Van Allen, the three first had sex in 1998, which meant the girl was only fourteen. Also in the three-hour testimony, Van Allen revealed that Kelly often walked around with a duffel bag full of videotapes of his sexual exploits. On cross-examination, the defense managed to get Van Allen to admit she once stole a watch from Kelly. The trial is off today, and the defense will begin their case on Wednesday.

[Photo: Getty]

A forensic video expert took the stand yesterday at the R. Kelly trial to show that the sex tape in question could not be faked and to blow a hole in the defense’s argument that the man in the video was missing a small mole that Kelly has on his back. Grant Fredericks testified that it would take forty-four years of non-stop work to “fake” the video, and at times paused the video frame-by-frame to compare visuals of the man on the tape to Kelly and the location in question to photos of his home. Meanwhile, the other woman in the video’s threesome, who was supposed to take the stand yesterday, had her testimony delayed until early next week. And there’s still no word as to who that surprise witness who temporarily halted the trial on Wednesday is or what information he might have.

[Photo: Getty]

Moments before the prosecution was to call their most damning witness against R. Kelly, a surprise witness for the defense shut down proceedings yesterday. The judge to halted testimony temporarily so Kelly’s lawyer could meet with a still unidentified man who could undermine the testimony of the alleged other woman who participated in the sex tape at the heart of the trial. Court is back in session today, where that woman is expected to take the stand and positively identify R. Kelly and the then-underage girl on the tape. The surprise witness will need to have some groundbreaking information in order to affect the case, as the woman taking the stand today is expected to deal a severe blow to Kelly’s defense.

[Photo: Getty]

The R. Kelly child pornography trial resumed yesterday after the long Memorial Day weekend with several more witnesses taking the stand to identify the singer and the young girl in the sex tape. Most notable of the witnesses was Kelly’s former assistant Lindsay Perryman, who spent seven years working for the star. Perryman testified that Kelly was a great boss, that she thought “highly” of him and that she’d never seen him act inappropriately with females. That being said, she was “110 percent sure” that the couple in the video was Kelly and the girl at the heart of the trial. Perryman knew the girl well — she testified that she would often see her show up to Kelly’s studio carrying a pillow and an overnight bag, and as her job functions expanded she often facilitated liaisons between the two. Despite the fact that the girl was often coming from school to meet with Kelly, Perryman never suspected any inappropriate behavior. Perryman also acknowledged seeing Lisa Van Allen, the supposed third partner in the alleged threesome on the video, who is expected to take the stand today.

[Photo: Getty]

Friends and relatives of the then-underage girl supposedly shown in the R. Kelly sex tape took the stand yesterday at Kelly’s child pornography trial to testify that the girl in the tape is in fact the underage girl and that the male shown in the tape is Kelly. Among the witnesses was Stephanie “Sparkle” Edwards, a former protégé of Kelly’s and aunt of the girl in the video, and Simha Johnson, the supposed video girl’s best friend. Both positively identified the girl and Kelly as the participants in the tape. The defense countered Edwards’ testimony with allegations that Edwards attempted to extort Kelly out of money, which Edwards denied.

[Photo: Getty]

Opening statements went down yesterday in the R. Kelly trial, and so did one juror. Juror Sixty-eight, who was perhaps the prosecution’s most valuable juror due to the fact that she was a rape victim, was forced to leave the panel after learning her job would not pay for her time away from work, thus making it impossible for her to maintain her mortgage. Meanwhile, the court was shown the complete version of the sex tape that was the catalyst for Kelly’s child pornography charges. The 27-minute video, which was sent anonymously to a Chicago newspaper in 2002, shows a man the prosecution claims is Kelly having sex with a girl who may be as young as 13. The defense maintains it is not the “Trapped in the Closet” star on the tape, and the girl in question says it’s not her in the video either. Stay tuned to Rock Daily for more updates on the trial of the Pied Piper of R&B.

[Photo: Getty]