More than a month after opening statements alleging R. Kelly was the head of a criminal enterprise that enabled his sexually predatory desires, federal prosecutors in New York have rested their case in chief.
Now the defense has a chance to put on witnesses, in an attempt to convince jurors that it is actually Kelly who is the victim: a victim of untruthful, spiteful exes and overzealous federal prosecutors.
As in most criminal trials, the bulk of the defense’s case has come out in cross-examination of prosecution witnesses. But the defense is expected to call a few people to the stand, including possibly one of Kelly’s current girlfriends and a doctor who could provide jurors a different point of view about Kelly’s herpes diagnosis.
Kelly himself could take the stand, though that seems unlikely given the immense risk of exposing him to cross-examination.
Depending on the length of the defense case, jurors could begin deliberating on Kelly’s fate as early as midweek.
Prosecutors’ witnesses have largely fallen into two categories. Kelly’s accusers, mostly young women, have alleged that he was violent and manipulative, even controlling when they could leave their rooms to use the bathroom. Kelly’s alleged enablers have taken the stand to testify about the structure of the so-called enterprise, including Kelly’s rules keeping women isolated to their rooms or on tour buses.
The defense, through their cross-examination, has focused largely on painting Kelly’s accusers as liars, motivated by jealousy or profit.
While the trial has taken place in Brooklyn’s federal courthouse, much of the evidence ties back to Kelly’s native Chicago. Witnesses described the hotel in suburban Rosemont where Kelly married underage Aaliyah in the 1990s, the old Rock ‘n’ Roll McDonald’s in River North where he allegedly tried to pick up a teenager, his various Chicago recording studios, and his mansion in suburban Olympia Fields.
The New York case is the first of Kelly’s many criminal charges to go to trial. He also faces a case in Chicago’s federal courthouse, where prosecutors allege he and two others fixed his 2008 trial in Cook County. Kelly was acquitted in that trial, but in 2019 county prosecutors brought four new indictments against him, all of which are still pending at Chicago’s Leighton Criminal Court Building. Kelly also faces a solicitation case in state court in Minnesota.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
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