***Warning: This story includes graphic descriptions of allegations of sexual abuse against minors***
Federal prosecutors described singer R. Kelly as a sexual predator as closing arguments got underway Monday in his federal trial in Chicago, following four weeks of testimony.
Kelly, 55, faces a 13-count indictment on child pornography and obstruction of justice charges. Two former associates are being tried alongside him.
Kelly and his former business manager, Derrel McDavid, are accused of fixing Kelly's 2008 child pornography trial – at which he was acquitted – by intimidating and paying off witnesses, and conspiring to cover up Kelly's alleged sexual abuse of children by buying back incriminating videotapes. Kelly's former assistant, Milton "June" Brown is accused of receiving child pornography for his alleged role in the scheme to cover up the sex tapes.
Jurors heard four weeks of testimony from more than 30 witnesses, and saw clips from three sex tapes that prosecutors say show Kelly sexually abusing his 14-year-old goddaughter.
In closing arguments, prosecutors spent more than two hours detailing the 13 criminal counts against Kelly, connecting the dots heard in testimony over four weeks.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Pozolo started her closing arguments by immediately bringing up "Jane," the pivotal witness in this case who testified Kelly started sexually abusing her when she was 14 years old.
Pozolo said Kelly wasn't the only one to cover up his sexual abuse of Jane as a child. Prosecutors said Kelly, McDavid, and Brown all tried to cover up Kelly's behavior, and failed, pointing out to jurors the sex tapes they saw snippets of in court were covered up for two decades.
Pozolo also reminded the jury, in explicit detail, what they saw and heard on those tapes, all involving "Jane," including Kelly referring to her as 14 years old and Kelly urinating on Jane's body parts, face and mouth.
During the trial, four women accused Kelly of sexually abusing them when they were girls, including the state's star witness, who testified under the pseudonym "Jane," who told jurors that Kelly began abusing her after becoming her godfather when she was only 14, and had sex with her hundreds of times between the ages of 14 and 18.
Jane had denied for years that Kelly abused her, but now says Kelly intimidated her and her family, and paid them off to keep his abuse secret. She now says she was the person in the video at the center of Kelly's 2008 child pornography trial in Cook County, and has told the jury Kelly recorded her on other videos shown in court.
McDavid was the only defendant to testify at the trial, spending three days on the witness stand repeatedly telling jurors that he believed Kelly when he denied sexually abusing girls in the early 2000s, but said he began to have doubts about Kelly's innocence after learning new things during the ongoing federal trial.
Pozolo challenged McDavid's claims on the witness stand that he wasn't aware of any sexual relationship between Kelly and "Jane." The government said, despite what McDavid testified, both he and staffer Milton Brown knew about the relationship and the effort to hide it.
The prosecution went over the testimony of Jane and 3 of the other 4 women involved in the counts against Kelly – Tracy, Nia and Pauline, who all accused Kelly of sexually abusing them as girls. Jurors did not hear from a fifth accuser, Brittany, but the Pozolo pointed out both Jane and Pauline testified to sex acts involving her.
"Robert Kelly abused many girls over many years ... and he didn't do it alone … the hidden side of Robert Kelly has come to light. The truth has come out," Pozolo said.
Kelly already has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after he was convicted last year of racketeering and sex trafficking charges in federal court in New York. If convicted of the federal charges in Chicago, he could face decades more in prison.
Read more about Monday's closing arguments below
Attorney for Milton Brown questions why he is associated with case at all
Mary Judge, attorney for Kelly co-defendant and former staffer Milton "June" Brown, said in her closing argument that it did not make sense for her client to be on trial in this case.
She told jurors if they were wondering where the evidence was against Brown – and why he was charged in the case at all – they are not alone. Judge said Brown's name had only been mentioned sporadically throughout the trial, and said, "The government has failed miserably to prove knowledge."
The attorney said Milton did his job as an assistant for Kelly, and that was all. She said prosecutors had promised evidence would show what Milton was guilty of, but she said only thing government showed was proof Milton was doing his job
Judge said after Brown began working for Kelly in 1997, a year after Kelly became involved with "Jane." The attorney said after Brown had been working with Kelly for one year, Kelly did not share any of his darkest, deepest, most personal incriminating details of his life with Brown.
Attorney Judge also said Brown did not start working with Kelly until he was already a superstar.
Judge disputed prosecutors' in their opening statement that Brown knew Jane was having sex with Kelly because he drove Jane to get a tattoo with Kelly's name in a heart covered up. Judge brought up testimony by Jane saying the only two people who knew about the tattoo were her and Kelly – and she did not talk to Brown about it when he was driving her to the tattoo parlor or back to the house.
Judge also said Brown brought Kelly's gym bags around for him as part of his "job responsibilities," but said Jane had testified she had no reason to believe Brown knew what was in the bag. Judge added that even if Brown had seen videotapes showing child pornography in the bag, there was no way he would have known what was on the tapes just by seeing them that way.
Judge added that Kelly was very rich and made a lot of money that was often dealt in cash, and part of Brown's job was getting that cash. The attorney said this was simply "part of the job" for Brown and does not prove that he knew anything about Jane or any child pornography.
Judge said prosecutors had acted like Brown had been working for Kelly before his career took off – which she said was not true. She added that prosecutors were trying to depict a fictional bond between Brown and Kelly when all the evidence shows Brown just did his job.
Judge added that Freeman had testified he had sued Kelly, McDavid, and Brown to get his money for retrieving the tapes – when evidence showed, she said, that Freeman had only sued Kelly and McDavid. Judge said prosecutors should have corrected their witness immediately, but they did not.
Kelly attorney Jennifer Bonjean objected to Judge's closing – saying it rested on the assumption that Kelly was a sexual predator and assumed him guilty. Bonjean said the presumption of innocence had been abolished, and moved for a mistrial.
U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber denied the motion for the mistrial.
Derrel McDavid defense attorney says "There is no proof of a secret agreement"
Beau Brindley, the attorney for Kelly co-defendant Derrel McDavid, told jurors in his closing argument that the case hinges on the involvement of four people: Kelly attorneys Gerry Margolis, Ed Genson, and John Touhy; and private investigator Jack Palladino. He said all four men would have had to risk their own careers and reputations to cover up child pornography for Kelly.
"Would they ever do that?" he said.
Brindley noted that jurors must find the defendants guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt" to convict them, and said prosecutors haven't given sufficient evidence to prove that, leaving the jury with a single truth: for McDavid to be guilty, Margolis, Genson, Palladino, and Touhy must be guilty as well.
Brindley also argued that, for the jury to convict McDavid, they must be able to say prosecution witnesses Chuck Freeman and Lisa Van Allen were trustworthy beyond a reasonable doubt, claiming the only evidence McDavid did anything wrong lies in their testimony.
He said, if jurors have reason to doubt Van Allen and Freeman, they must acquit McDavid.
Brindley also claimed the prosecution's case suffers from a statute of limitations problem, saying if a conspiracy ended more than five years before a defendant was charged, the defendant can't be found guilty. He claimed, if there was a conspiracy at all, it ended when Kelly's 2008 child pornography trial ended in a conviction.
As for payments Kelly's team made to the prosecution's star witness, "Jane," who has accused Kelly of sexually abusing her hundreds of times starting when she was only 14, and recording some of their sexual encounters on video, Brindley said prosecutors didn't prove the payments were related to her sexual abuse claims.
Turning to a settlement Kelly paid to McDavid after the two parted ways in 2013, Brindley countered any suggestions the settlement had anything to do with the criminal case, saying McDavid sued Kelly over money owed for his work as the singer's business manager. While the settlement included a confidentiality clause that would have required McDavid to pay Kelly $100,000 if he violated it, Brindley argued if the settlement had anything to do with illegal behavior, the damages would have been much higher.
"There is no proof of a secret agreement," Brindley said.
Brindley also highlighted apparent inconsistencies regarding a meeting at an Oak Park hotel, where Jane testified Kelly admitted to her parents that he'd been having sex with her when she was just a girl, saying Jane's account of the meeting doesn't match up with her mother's, and calling the prosecution's focus on the meeting a "red herring."
Bringing up Kelly's former manager, Barry Hankerson, Brindley said Hankerson was known to have hated Kelly after their relationship ended, and suggested Hankerson put up money for women to accuse Kelly of sexual abuse.
"They were paying people to lie," he said.
Brindley said, the same day the Sun-Times contacted Kelly's team about a video they had obtained allegedly showing him sexually abusing a girl, Hankerson also called about a video, making McDavid suspicious of any claims.
"Anyone in his position" would feel it was illegitimate, Brindley argued.
Brindley said McDavid – whose defense depends partly on his claims he believed Kelly's denials of sexual abuse during the time of the alleged conspiracy – had no reason to doubt Jane's denials that Kelly abused her. But he said McDavid had plenty of reasons to doubt Charles Freeman, who has testified Kelly's team hired him to recover incriminating sex tapes, calling Freeman a "talentless, tactless, t-shirt salesman," asking jurors why Kelly's team would hire Freeman to recover anything when they'd already hired private investigator Jack Palladino.
Brindley said Freeman hasn't been able to keep his story straight regarding his claims he was hired to track down those tapes.
"His own words betray him again and again," Brindley said.
As for the prosecution's argument that jurors don't have to like Freeman to believe him, Brindley said the jury doesn't have to believe him because he's a liar.
"How much more do we have to show?" he asked.
Brindley also sought to cast doubt on Lisa Van Allen's testimony that she took a tape from R. Kelly showing the two of them having sex with Jane, and that Kelly's team offered to pay her to get it back. Brindley noted Van Allen said she gave the tape to her friend Keith Murrell, and Murrell said Van Allen never told him there was a girl on the tape.
"She treated it like a regular threesome tape that was exciting because it had a super star on it," Brindley said, adding that if Van Allen was truly worried about what was on the tape, she would have destroyed it, not tried to get money for it.
"It was always about money." Brindley added. "Enough is enough. She lied."
Brindley wrapped up his closing argument by telling jurors that prosecutors in their opening statement promised clear proof Kelly, McDavid, and Brown are guilty, but said all they have against McDavid is "guilt by association."
"They didn't give you what they promised. Use your verdict. Say so, please," he said.
Juror excused after suffering panic attack
One of the jurors in the R. Kelly trial was excused in the middle of closing arguments, after telling U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber she was suffering a panic attack, and could not continue.
She will be replaced by an alternate juror.
Prosecutors say "the hidden side of Robert Kelly has come to light"
Federal prosecutors said "the hidden side of Robert Kelly has come to light" as closing arguments began on Monday, as the embattled singer faces charges of child pornography, obstruction of justice, and enticing minors to engage in sexual activity.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Pozolo told jurors that Kelly and his two co-defendants did their best to cover up Kelly's repeated acts of sexual abuse of girls, but they failed. She focused the start of her closing argument on testimony from "Jane," a now 37-year-old woman who told jurors during the trial that Kelly sexually abused her hundreds of times starting when she was 14, shortly after becoming her godfather.
"Jane, a 14-year old child, abused by Robert Kelly, who recorded the abuse," Pozolo said, accusing Kelly of using his position as Jane' godfather to molest her and degrade her "for his own sick pleasure."
Pozolo noted Jane identified herself in three videos viewed by the jury, showing Kelly sexually abusing her.
Asking who would do something like that and cover it up, Pozolo pointed to Kelly and his co-defendants.
Pozolo said Kelly's former business manager, Derrel McDavid, knew how devastating those tapes would be if they became public, and that thousands of dollars would be needed to pay to keep them private, and he paid it. She said Kelly's former assistant, Milton "June" Brown arranged for hotel rooms and more, and knowingly got cash to help make those payoffs.
Pozolo also described for the jury in graphic detail what those videos showed, telling them one of the videos showed Kelly having sex with her, before telling her to lay on the floor while he urinated on her.
"Her abuse is forever memorialized," Pozolo said.
Pozolo also noted that in one of the videos, Kelly could be seen handing her cash. Jane has testified that Kelly wanted it to look like she was a prostitute if the video ever came to light.
"Robert Kelly made that 14-year-old girl feel like a prostitute," Pozolo said.
As for one apparent weakness in their case, prosecutors also acknowledged Charles Freeman, who has testified he was paid to track down and recover incriminating sex tapes for Kelly and his team, is "disgraceful," but said the jury doesn't have to like him.
Defense attorneys have sought to discredit Freeman, claiming he approached Kelly's team in an attempt to extort them, but Pozolo said his testimony that Kelly's team hired him to help cover up incriminating evidence is supported by other evidence in the case.
Turning to a meeting Jane and her mother said they had with Kelly and his team in Oak Park after one of the videos was leaked, Pozolo said Kelly couldn't manage the situation himself, and needed his team, and specifically McDavid. She said, while Jane couldn't recall if McDavid was at the meeting, her mother, Susan, testified McDavid was there. Pozolo said Susan would know which adults were in the room when she learned Kelly had been sexually abusing her daughter.
Pozolo said, during that meeting, Kelly and McDavid arranged to have Jane and her parents travel out of the country as a criminal investigation of Kelly was ongoing, in order to isolate them from law enforcement and others, questioning why Kelly and his team would send the family out of the country if the tapes were fake.
Seeking to counter McDavid's claims from the witness stand that he believed Kelly's denials of sexual abuse for years, Pozolo told the jury that Kelly and McDavid withheld $50,000 of the $250,000 they had promised to his ex-girlfriend Lisa Van Allen, after she stole one of his sex tapes. Pozolo said that proves McDavid knew the tape couldn't see the light of day during Kelly's child pornography trial, because "this is not a regular porno" like defense attorneys have called it.
As for Brown's alleged role in the conspiracy, Pozolo said travel records showed Brown accompanied Jane and her family on the overseas trips Kelly arranged, proving he knew what was going on. She also said Brown took Jane to get a tattoo of a heart with Kelly's name on it covered up amid a criminal investigation of Kelly.
"Brown was not some innocent bystander" Pozolo said.
As she wrapped up her closing argument, Pozolo said Kelly "committed horrible crimes against children and he didn't do it alone."
"The truth has come out. Find the defendants guilty in all counts in the indictment," she said. "Robert Kelly abused many girls over many years ... and he didn't do it alone … the hidden side of Robert Kelly has come to light. The truth has come out."
Prosecutor describes Kelly as predator who used fame to sexually abuse girls
R. Kelly is a sexual predator who parlayed his fame to abuse minors, a prosecutor said Monday during closing arguments at the R&B star's child pornography and trial-fixing trial.
Addressing jurors in a 25th floor courtroom in Chicago, Kelly's hometown, Elizabeth Pozol cited one of Kelly's accusers who was the government's start witness at the monthlong trial.
Referring to the accuser by a pseudonym, "Jane," Pozol said Kelly "took advantage of Jane's youth. He repeatedly abused her. He performed degrading acts upon her for his own sick pleasure."
She said Kelly and his two co-defendants helped to recover child pornography videos and hid evidence before Kelly's 2008 trail, at which he was acquitted.
She said they acted to cover up the fact that "R. Kelly … the R&B superstar … is actually a sexual predator."
Pozolo described in graphic detail the video excerpts jurors saw that she said show Kelly abusing Jane while she calls him "daddy" and refers to herself as being 14 years old. She said Kelly can be seen walking up to the camera to adjust it. Jane testified at trial that she was the teenager in the video.
"That abuse is forever memorialized ...," Pozolo told jurors, her voice rising. "Who does that? Who uses a 14-year-old child to film a video like this? This man. Robert Kelly."
Before Kelly's 2008 trial, Pozolo said Kelly and his associates scrambled to recover sex videos that had gone missing from a collection he often carried around in a large gym bag. More tapes revealing Kelly as a sexual abuser could sink his career and land him in yet more legal trouble, so he was prepared to make six- and seven-figure payments to get them back, Pozolo said.
"The secret that would ruin Kelly forever if it came out," she said. "So yes, that secret was worth $1 million."
