Federal jurors who have heard four weeks of testimony and arguments in R. Kelly’s latest trial in Chicago could finally have the case in their hands by the end of the day Tuesday.
But first, there will be one more showdown between Kelly attorney Jennifer Bonjean and federal prosecutors, who told jurors Monday that “the hidden side of R. Kelly has come to light” through his trial at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.
“The truth has come out,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Pozolo told jurors.
The jury spent roughly five hours Monday listening to closing arguments, first from Pozolo and then from attorneys for Kelly’s co-defendants, former business manager Derrel McDavid and one-time assistant Milton “June” Brown.
But they did not hear from Bonjean, who will have just under two hours to give her closing argument when the trial resumes on Tuesday. Prosecutors will then have roughly one hour to deliver the final word in the case.
U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber will then instruct the jury, and deliberations should begin.
The makeup of the jury changed slightly Monday. After hearing the argument from McDavid attorney Beau Brindley, a juror reported she was having a panic attack and could not “go on one minute more.” That juror, a white female, was replaced by a white male who had been serving as an alternate.
Pozolo’s closing argument began and ended with the alleged Kelly victim known to jurors as “Jane.” A notorious video allegedly depicting Kelly’s sexual abuse of Jane surfaced in the 2000s and led to an earlier child pornography trial of Kelly in state court.
Jane declined to testify during the earlier trial, and Kelly was acquitted.
Now in her late 30s, Jane testified for the first time last month that she appeared on that video and others with Kelly, who she said abused her repeatedly when she was underage in the 1990s. She said it started when she was around 14, after she asked Kelly to be her godfather.
Pozolo said Kelly “used his position as Jane’s godfather to molest her.”
“He took advantage of Jane’s youth,” Pozolo said. Jabbing her finger toward Kelly, she said, “he repeatedly abused her. He performed degrading acts upon her for his own sick pleasure.”
Jane testified the abuse turned to intercourse when she was 15. As Pozolo’s argument neared its end Monday, she displayed a photo of Jane, smiling and wearing a basketball uniform, to jurors.
“This is what Jane looked like when she was 15 years old,” Pozolo said. “Jane testified that Kelly had sexual intercourse with her hundreds of times before she turned 17.”
Pozolo also argued that Kelly should be convicted for his sexual abuse of four other victims, known to jurors as “Tracy,” “Pauline,” “Nia” and “Brittany.”
“Robert Kelly abused many girls over many years,” Pozolo said. “He committed horrible crimes against children. And he didn’t do it alone.”
Kelly and McDavid are charged with rigging Kelly’s 2008 trial. The two are also accused with Brown of conspiring to hunt down videos of Kelly that allegedly amount to child pornography. The charges hinge largely on the testimony of Charles Freeman, among others.
Freeman said he helped hunt down incriminating videos of Kelly in the 2000s, including going to a home near Atlanta, demanding tapes stolen from Kelly and finding one sticking out of a VCR. Brindley on Monday called it a “ridiculous” story.
“He goes busting in there like Shaft?” Brindley said.
Pozolo told jurors they don’t have to like Freeman. She even called him “disgraceful.” He admitted to multiple crimes while testifying under immunity. Brindley countered that he doesn’t care if jurors do like him, “but you can’t believe him, because he didn’t act like an honest person.”
“They promised you clear proof,” Brindley said of prosecutors. “And they did not deliver it.”
Brown attorney Mary Judge told jurors that prosecutors “failed miserably” in their bid to prove her client knew what was depicted on the videos he’s accused of helping collect. And she said they offered no explanation for why Brown would commit a “reprehensible crime” for Kelly.
“Carrying R. Kelly’s bags, even if they did contain child pornography videos, is not enough if Milton Brown had no knowledge of what was on the tapes,” Judge said.
