Was woman in R. Kelly case paid to get sex tape back?
CLOSED TESTIMONY | An R. Kelly aide allegedly paid woman to return video -- jury selection in trial begins today
(AP)
An aide to R. Kelly allegedly paid off a woman to get her to return an incriminating sex videotape featuring the R&B singer, a judge was told in closed-door hearings last month.
The Atlanta woman, who is expected to testify she had a three-way sexual encounter with Kelly and an underage girl, was described by a source as having been in love with the singer. It is not clear how much Kelly's aide allegedly paid the woman.
Kelly, 41, faces criminal charges that he made a separate videotape of himself having sex with a girl estimated to be 13 or 14. He has pleaded not guilty to child pornography and faces up to 15 years if convicted. Jury selection is set to begin today.
In the run-up to Kelly's long-awaited trial, Judge Vincent Gaughan held four hearings in April that were closed to the public.
Sources familiar with the matter tell the Sun-Times the secret hearings dealt with the potential trial testimony of the Atlanta woman, who allegedly had a threesome with Kelly and the girl who appears in the video for which he faces charges. The Atlanta woman can identify the girl and testify she was underage at the time, sources said.
The Atlanta woman received immunity from state and federal prosecution in exchange for her testimony, sources said. Federal immun- ity was necessary to protect her from charges of transporting child pornography across state lines.
During the April hearings, Gaughan was told that the Kelly aide offered the Atlanta woman money for a sex tape featuring Kelly. At one point, the aide arranged for her to take a polygraph test to determine whether she was telling the truth about having the tape, sources said.
Eventually, the woman received money and arranged for the tape to be sent to Kelly's aide, who is not an attorney, sources said.
It is not clear whether Kelly knew about the alleged deal.
At some point after the Atlanta woman's dealings with Kelly's aide, prosecutors became aware of her and decided to make her a witness in the case involving the initial tape. Her testimony could prove valuable, because the defense plans to argue that the alleged minor on that tape is not who prosecutors say she is. The girl, now a woman in her 20s, denied before a grand jury that she was involved and might testify as a defense witness at trial.
Prosecutors and defense lawyers declined to comment, citing a gag order in the case, which has been pending since 2002.
"I'm not allowed to talk to you about this case," said Ed Genson, one of Kelly's lawyers.
Gaughan has placed numerous court documents under seal and imposed the gag order on lawyers, saying that making the information public "might deprive Mr. Kelly of a fair trial."
The Sun-Times first reported about the new Atlanta witness in its Sunday edition. On Wednesday, Kelly's lawyers asked Gaughan to delay the trial because of the resulting "torrent of publicity." Prosecutors are set to respond today, and the judge could rule then. Potential jurors in the case are scheduled to report to Gaughan's courtroom at 10 a.m., after the prosecutors address the defense's call for a delay.
On Thursday, Gaughan heard arguments from lawyers for the Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Associated Press and WBEZ-FM (91.5). The media organizations want Gaughan to unseal court documents and release transcripts of the closed hearings.
Media lawyer Damon Dunn told Gaughan that the jury selection process could weed out jurors who were biased by pretrial publicity.
"If there had not been closure in this case, this news would have been ventilated months ago," Dunn said of the Sun-Times' Sunday story. "If you're going to dam up the flow of information, all you do is increase the pressure."
But Marc Martin, one of Kelly's lawyers, said, "Mr. Kelly's right to a fair trial has to be taken into account."
Martin noted that, because of Gaughan's gag order, the defense could not respond to reporters' requests for comment. "We're handcuffed, judge. We can't say what's false."
"We have reporters telling us to cough on the phone if the allegations are true," Martin said.
