The woman who was an underaged girl in the 1990s seen in several tapes having sex with R. Kelly is expected to testify against the disgraced singer at his federal child pornography trial underway in Chicago.
According to CNN, the woman is expected to testify that she was 14 at the time of the recordings. Kelly was acquitted of child pornography in 2008, and she didn’t testify at that time. At nearly 40 years old, the woman will finally take the stand under the pseudonym “Jane.”
“Jane’s going to testify,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Julien said Wednesday during his opening statement. “Jane’s going to tell you that it’s her on the videos, that it’s Kelly on the videos having sex with her.”
Kelly’s September conviction in Brooklyn federal court earned him a sentence of 30 years in prison for sex trafficking and racketeering. He currently faces federal charges in his native Chicago alleging he sexually abused five minors in the late ’90s and created videotapes of the encounters. He has been charged with producing and receiving child pornography, enticing minors to engage in criminal sexual activity and obstruction counts.
In this case, Kelly will be joined by two co-defendants: Derrel McDavid, his former business manager and accountant, who faces child pornography and obstruction charges, and former assistant Milton “June” Brown, who faces one count of conspiracy to receive child pornography.
McDavid is accused of intimidating the young woman during the initial trial — claims his attorney dismissed.
“We will show you that everything he (McDavid) saw and everything he was told led him to believe that the tape was not legitimate,” Vadim Glozman told jurors. “Because he believed that, there was never any intention to obstruct justice or break the law. The only intention was to present the best defense possible.”
Kathleen Leon, Brown’s lawyer, painted him as “just an assistant who, day in and day out, fulfilled his employment duties.”
“He had no knowledge of the secrets that his employer Robert Kelly held close and hidden from the world,” she contended. “He had no knowledge of any conspiracy and no knowledge that the individual portrayed in the VHS tape was a minor.”
All three men have pleaded not guilty.
“The defendant Robert Kelly had sex with multiple children,” Julien said Wednesday. “He made videotapes of himself having sex with young children. And these two defendants, Derrel McDavid and Milton Brown, knew about it. Derrel McDavid and Milton Brown helped Kelly cover it up and keep it a secret.”
In her opening statement, Kelly’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, posed a question to the jurors about why the woman denied it was her in the tapes for decades.
“For the last 22 years, said Bonjean, “she has adamantly denied that it was her in that video. Before there was any criminal investigation, she denied it. She denied it repeatedly to prosecutors; she denied it to social workers to police officers. She denied it under oath to a grand jury.”
Jane is reportedly the niece of Kelly protege Sparkle, and Kelly was said to be the girl’s godfather and a primary source of income for her family. According to prosecutors, the singer took the girl’s virginity when she was around 13 or 14 and he was about 31. They are expected to present a case that shows Jane was one of many underage women victimized by Kelly in the ’90s.
“Kelly taught Jane what to do to please Kelly sexually,” Julien said. “Kelly told Jane how to position her body during sex. What he wanted Jane to say to him during sex.”
Several clips showing Kelly engaged in sex with underaged girls are expected to be shown to trial jurors privately. Kelly revealed they would witness Kelly setting up a camcorder and adjusting it before engaging in sex with the underaged Jane.
“The videos are difficult to watch,” he admitted. “But it’s important for you all to watch those videos to understand what happened.”
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