Kelly case hits 5 years: 'It's ridiculous'
INDICTED | Could finally go to trial this fall on child porn charges
Five years.
It was five years ago today that a Cook County grand jury indicted R&B superstar R. Kelly on 21 counts of child pornography for allegedly videotaping himself engaging in sex acts with an underage girl.
It was five years ago today that a Cook County grand jury indicted R&B superstar R. Kelly on 21 counts of child pornography for allegedly videotaping himself engaging in sex acts with an underage girl.
The case has raised eyebrows for the length of time it is taking to get to trial. No trial date has been set, though last month, Judge Vincent Gaughan told prosecutors and Kelly's lawyers to draft questions for potential jurors. That's a signal the case might finally be ready to go to trial this fall.
(AP)
At any point over the last five years, R&B superstar R. Kelly's attorney could have invoked the Speedy Trial rule and demanded prosecutors be ready to try the child pornography charges against Kelly within 160 days.
Kelly has never invoked the rule. Defendants seldom do because delays often help their side of the case, experts say.
"The irony is that the defendant has the right to a speedy trial but in most cases, they are exercising the right to drag their feet," said Wendy Murphy, a professor at the New England School of Law.
The case has raised eyebrows for the length of time it is taking to get to trial. No trial date has been set, though last month, Judge Vincent Gaughan told prosecutors and Kelly's lawyers to draft questions for potential jurors. That's a signal the case might finally be ready to go to trial this fall.
The American Bar Association says criminal cases should be resolved within a year. Michael Jackson was charged, tried and acquitted of child molestation charges since Kelly was indicted. Martha Stewart was charged, tried, convicted and served her sentence.
"We have been ready for trial for a long time and continue to be ready for trial," Cook County State's Attorney Dick Devine said in February.
The girl, who allegedly was 14 years old when the tape of her and Kelly was made, will celebrate her 23rd birthday in September. The longer the trial is delayed, the less she will look like a vulnerable teenager when she appears on the witness stand.
"It's ridiculous that it has taken five years to get to trial," said New England School of Law Professor Wendy Murphy. "There's no excuse for it. But this is a tried-and-true tactic when it comes to sex-crimes cases: 'victory by delay.' Witnesses end up moving away. They die. You tend to see a lot of delays for defendants who are wealthy. You don't tend to see a lot of delays when the defendant is a poor kid from the inner city."
Kelly was a poor kid from Chicago who rose from busking on L platforms to become one of the most successful recording artists to come out of the city. The charges have not stopped him from selling 8 million CDs over the last five years. His CD "Double Up" debuted last week.
Kelly's lawyers, led by Ed Genson, have said they need to examine the evidence and credentials of prosecution experts who will argue the videotape is authentic. Kelly's experts will challenge its authenticity. Both sides spent years arguing about the time frame in which the tape was allegedly made.
Genson has been busy defending former Chicago Sun-Times owner Conrad Black at trial, and Judge Gaughan has been tied up in the Brown's Chicken murder trial.
"In more than 35 years observing criminal proceedings in Illinois, I have never seen a non-capital case take this long," said Devine spokesman John Gorman, adding Kelly's lawyers have filed 30 motions over the five years.
"You see this in death penalty cases, a murder case, but a sex crimes case? This is a long time. It just seems both sides intend to take their time," said Laurie Levenson, a law professor at Loyola University of Los Angeles.
"Rob is looking forward to his day in court and he's confident when all the facts come out he's going to be shown to have not been guilty of any crime," said Kelly spokesman Allen Mayer.