A videotape allegedly showing R. Kelly having sex with an underage girl will be shown in court.Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan has upheld his decision to allow the media and public to view the footage despite prosecutors appeal against the initial ruling.The prosecution claimed screening the tape in open court would re-victimise the girl. But Judge Gaughan pointed out the girl - who prosecutors claim is seen in the video - has denied it is her. Prosecutors claim the video was made between January 1998 and October 2000, when the girl may have been as young as 13.'I Believe I Can Fly' singer R. Kelly has pleaded not guilty to 14 counts of child pornography and maintains he is not the man in the video.The underage girl he is accused of having sex with is to testify in his defence.The 40-year-old star was charged with 21 counts of child pornography and sex with an underage girl in 2002, after the tape surfaced in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Despite confusion over the tape, the girl's aunt, Kelly's former protege Sparkle, believes it is her niece in the video and the singer - real name Stephanie Edwards - is set to testify on behalf of the prosecution. Kelly will stand trial on 17 September and if found guilty faces a 15-year jail sentence and a fine of up to $100,000 (£50,000).
R. Kelly
Court documents in the child pornography trial of singing star R. Kelly will remain sealed despite a media request to see them, a judge in Chicago has just ruled. Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan wrote in his decision this week that despite a request from multiple news organizations, court documents related to the case would remain sealed until the end of the trial in the interest of fairness, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Saturday."Of paramount concern is that the defendant gets a fair trial," Gaughan said in his decision. "The torrent of media interest in this case has prompted entry of the order which prevents the serious and imminent threat that this case would be tried in the media."While the judge's decision significantly limits media coverage of the 41-year-old "Ignition" singer's trial, he did recognize how important the media has become in today's legal system."If it wasn't for the press, we wouldn't have the type of justice we have today," he said. "Nobody wants to inhibit the press."The Sun-Times said Kelly, whose full name is Robert Kelly, is accused of having sex with an underage girl who could have been as young as 13 years old when the incident allegedly took place.
Singer R. Kelly
