R. KELLY NOT GUILTY IN CHILD PORNOGRAPHY TRIAL

Seven hours was all it took for a jury to acquit singer R. Kelly of 14-counts of child pornography, a verdict six-years in the making. Kelly was accused of videotaping a sexual encounter with a female who allegedly was 13-years old at the time. Both Kelly and the now 23-year old victim each denied their alleged participation in the video. Defense attorneys also argued that the man in the video did not have a mole on his back, a feature their client in fact did have.

Neither Kelly nor the alleged victim testified during the month-long trial. Relatives of the alleged victim gave conflicting testimony as to whether the female on the tape was in fact who prosecutors claimed she was. The prosecution’s star witness was a woman who claimed to have participated in three-way sex with both Kelly and the alleged victim; however defense attorneys were able to paint the witness as incredible. Kelly’s attorneys proved to the jury that the witness was an extortionist, threatening R. Kelly with her testimony unless he paid her hundreds of thousands of dollars. Attorneys also claimed that the witness stole their client’s $20,000 wrist-watch.

R. Kelly faced 15-years in prison if convicted on all counts of child pornography. Jury deliberations began on Thursday afternoon last week and continued Friday morning until a verdict was finally reached. One juror told the press, following the verdict, that the jury was split just hours before the verdict. In the end, the jury determined that there was just not enough evidence to prove that R. Kelly and the alleged victim were in fact in the video.

Child Pornography

Federal Law defines child pornography as “a visual depiction of any kind, including a drawing, cartoon, sculpture, or painting, photograph, film, video, or computer-generated image or picture, whether made or produced by electronic, mechanical, or other means, of sexually explicit conduct, where it a) depicts a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct and is obscene, or b) depicts an image that is, or appears to be, of a minor engaging in graphic bestiality, sadistic or masochistic abuse, or sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex, and such depiction lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.” Possessing, Making, and Distributing child pornography is illegal in all 50 states, including Pennsylvania, and it is an offense which carries serious legal penalties.

If you have been arrested and charged with owning, making, or distributing child pornography, the Law Offices of Marc Neff can help. There are defenses which are available to you, so do not hesitate to contact the Law Offices of Marc Neff immediately.