Why the jury acquitted R. Kelly

Jurors say verdict hinged on doubt about identity of girl on sex tape; Divide in victim's family a factor, juror says

By Stacy St. Clair and Kayce T. Ataiyero | Tribune reporters

June 14, 2008

R. Kelly bowed his head and wept Friday as he was cleared of child pornography charges, acquitted by a jury that deliberated for just 7 1/2 hours over a case that took six years to bring to trial.

Wiping tears from his face with a blue silk handkerchief, Kelly clasped his attorneys' hands and prayed as he was cleared on all 14 counts in the indictment.

"Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus," Kelly said softly as the clerk read off each not-guilty.

After Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan dismissed the jury and left the bench, the singer's entourage rushed into the well of the courtroom and pulled Kelly into bear hugs. As Kelly celebrated, lead prosecutor Shauna Boliker walked to the defense table and shook hands with his attorneys.

Boliker and her team had simply failed to convince jurors that the female in the sex videotape was the R&B superstar's then-underage goddaughter, a girl who would have been as young as 13 at the time the tape was made.

Many jurors believed Kelly was the man in the tape, but they couldn't be sure that his goddaughter was the female. Without her testimony, the panel relied on a low-quality VHS tape and still photographs to determine the two participants' identities.

"Most of us felt that maybe it was Kelly, maybe not," said juror John Petrean, a Romanian immigrant. "But nobody could agree if it was her. We had seen photos of her at other times and she seemed like a young girl. It seemed like the girl on the tape was much more developed."

The prosecution called 14 witnesses, including several of the alleged victim's relatives, former friends and basketball coaches, to identify her on the tape. Many said they discounted the testimony of the young woman's relatives because the family was so split in its opinion on the identity of the girl in the tape.

"It seemed to me [that the goddaughter's family] was very divided over this from the beginning," Petrean said.

The jury accepted the tape's legitimacy, discrediting defense theories that it had been doctored as part of an elaborate extortion plan. The panel also did not debate the much-hyped mole theory. Kelly's attorneys had insisted that Kelly had a caterpillar-shaped mole along his spine and the man in the tape had an unblemished back.

State's Atty. Richard Devine, who attended the verdict announcement but did not participate in the trial, defended the prosecution, which has languished for six years under myriad delays and more than 50 pre-trial motions. Devine said he would do it again if confronted with the same evidence.

"As we must, we accept the verdict of the jury in this case," Devine said. "This prosecution is one we have no reservations about."

The singer, whose full name is Robert Kelly, left the Criminal Courts Building without speaking to the media. His spokesman later issued a statement saying Kelly had been confident that he would be cleared of the "terrible charges."

"He did not expect that it would take 6 ½ years," spokesman Allan Mayer said. "It's been a terrible ordeal for him and his family, and at this point all he wants to do is move forward and try to put it behind him. He wants to thank his lawyers who defended him so brilliantly. He wants to thank his fans who stuck by him and supported him with such love. Most of all, he wants to thank God for giving him the strength to get through this."

Kelly was indicted in 2002 on charges he videotaped himself engaging in sex with his goddaughter some time between 1998 and 2000. Prosecutors said the girl was as young as 13 at the time.

The Grammy winner, who shot to international stardom with "I Believe I Can Fly," long professed his . During a 2002 grand jury appearance, his goddaughter, now 23, also denied her involvement in the tape, and refused to cooperate with the prosecution.

Her absence during the trial played a key role in deliberations, jurors said. Following nearly five weeks of testimony, the panel of nine men and three women had initially been split, but after intense debate and hourly votes, the holdouts eventually conceded that reasonable doubt existed, members said.

The verdict stunned many, especially because it came about 30 minutes after three alternate jurors told the media they would have favored guilty verdicts for Kelly. Though they would have wanted to review the evidence with the rest of the panel, they said they believed both Kelly and his goddaughter appeared in an undoctored sex tape.

Kelly's defense team shrugged off the trio's views.

"It's a good thing they were alternates," attorney Sam Adam Jr. said jokingly.