Jury gets R. Kelly’s child porn/trial-fixing case

CHICAGO (AP) — R. Kelly’s federal trial on charges accusing him of making child pornography and rigging his 2008 child porn trial went to the jury on Tuesday after prosecutors and the defense wrapped up their cases.

A day after prosecutors delivered their closing argument, Kelly’s lead attorney made hers. Standing at a podium a few feet in front of the jurors, Jennifer Bonjean noted that many key government witnesses, including some of the women who accused Kelly of sexually abusing them, testified with immunity to ensure they wouldn’t be charged with previously lying to authorities.


Bonjean said they hadn’t come to the courthouse in Chicago, Kelly’s hometown, to tell the unvarnished truth. “They came in here,” she said, “to tell the government’s version of the truth.”

Among others, she cited Kelly ex-girlfriend Lisa Van Allen, who testified about how she stole a sex tape from a Kelly gym bag in the early 2000s. Bonjean also pointed to the testimony of Kelly’s former merchandizing agent Charles Freeman, who told jurors that he asked the singer for $1 million in exchange for returning another sex tape that could potentially incriminate the singer. Both testified with immunity.