R. Kelly told a federal judge Thursday he does not intend to testify in his latest criminal trial — a notable but not unexpected development as defense attorneys began to call their own witnesses.
“I’m not going to testify,” Kelly told U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber when the judge advised him of his rights.
But jurors have been told they will hear from one of Kelly’s co-defendants, former Kelly business manager Derrel McDavid. He is likely to take the stand when the trial resumes Tuesday. The judge sent jurors home for a long holiday weekend after defense attorneys called five witnesses Thursday.
Before testimony began, Leinenweber also denied motions from Kelly, McDavid and a third defendant, former Kelly assistant Milton “June” Brown, for acquittal. The routine — and rarely granted — bid came after prosecutors rested their case earlier this week.
Kelly’s trial on charges alleging child pornography, obstruction of justice and the enticement of minors into criminal sexual activity seems on track to conclude as early as next week. In fact, Leinenweber told the jurors the case will conclude next week “without fail.”
The trial has so far stretched over three weeks — including 11 days of testimony — in which jurors heard from four alleged victims of Kelly’s. They also viewed 17 clips from three videos allegedly depicting Kelly’s sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl known as “Jane.”
Prosecutors in this case say Kelly recorded his sexual abuse of Jane, abused four additional minors, conspired with McDavid to thwart his 2008 state-court trial on child pornography charges, and also plotted with McDavid and Brown to hunt down incriminating videotapes.
Defense attorneys have sought since opening statements to undermine the credibility of prosecutors’ witnesses — as well as the authenticity of the videos seen by jurors. They continued that effort when they began calling witnesses Thursday.
The witnesses seemed designed to counter specific testimony heard earlier by the jury. For example, McDavid’s attorneys called Christopher Wilson, a former Chicago police officer and now a member of the protection detail for Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, to contradict prosecution witness Charles Freeman.
Freeman said Kelly asked him in 2001 to help him recover some tapes that he’d lost. He also described meetings around August 2001 with McDavid and Kelly’s private investigator, Jack Palladino, in Kansas City, Mo. Wilson said McDavid hired him to provide security to Palladino around August 2001, while Palladino met with someone with “gang affiliations.” Wilson said McDavid was not present when they met with the man.
Another defense witness was called by Kelly’s attorneys to contradict an alleged victim referred to in court as “Tracy.” She told jurors she graduated from high school at age 16 in 1999, saw Kelly at an expo where he signed autographs that summer, and that he began to sexually abuse her when they met up afterward. However, Tracy also filed a lawsuit in 2001 that said she met the singer in April 2000, when she was 17 — the age of consent in Illinois.
Merry Green, president of MGPG Events, said her company was hired to put on the Expo for Today’s Black Women for radio station V103 from 1999 to 2001. During those years, she said Kelly only made a promotional appearance in 2000. She acknowledged that Kelly’s former group, Public Announcement, appeared at the expo in 1999, but Kelly attorney Jennifer Bonjean pointed out that Kelly left the group in 1993.
Finally, McDavid’s lawyers called Ronald Winters, a former personal assistant to the late attorney Ed Genson, to contradict Lisa Van Allen and Keith Murrell. The pair said they delivered incriminating video to McDavid in 2007 that allegedly depicted Kelly having sex with Van Allen and Jane.
Genson represented Kelly at the time.
Winters said he helped Genson, who was disabled, with various tasks, including playing videotapes. He said he once played a tape, brought to Genson by McDavid, of Kelly having sex with two females. One appeared to be Kelly’s wife, Winters said.
However, the alleged three-way encounter between Kelly, Van Allen and Jane occurred in a room designed to look like a log cabin, according to trial testimony. Winters said he didn’t remember that backdrop — but he also said he wasn’t focused on it.
“It’s a sex tape,” Winters said. “I’m not paying attention to the scenery.”
