Grammy Award-winning R&B star R. Kelly was acquitted on all 14 counts of child pornography June 13. As the verdict was read, Robert S. Kelly held his head low, cried and said “Thank you Jesus” each time he heard “We the jury find Robert Kelly, not guilty
Kelly’s four-person defense team looked concerned when word came around 1:30 p.m. that a verdict had been reached, roughly after 7-and-ahalf hours of deliberations over a two-day period. After he learned his fate, he used his sky blue handkerchief to dab tears that streamed from his eyes, then he tightly hugged his defense attorneys.
The Chicago native, who never took the witness stand, faced up to 15 years in prison for a 27-minute raunchy sex tape of allegedly Kelly and a minor having sex. The tape was the heart of the prosecution’s case against the singer.
The defense maintained that their client was not the man in the video and the alleged victim testified before a grand jury that she also did not participate in the tape. Defense attorney Sam Adam Jr. said the 41-year-old was a religious man, not the "stoic" man reporters and jurors saw over the last five weeks.
Kelly knew that every move he made, or emotion he showed, would be watched and scrutinized by the media. He chose to not wear his heart on his sleeve, Adam said. As Kelly left the courthouse, he waved and saluted the dozens of fans who waited to catch a glimpse of the acquitted superstar, and to cheer him on.
The Olympia Fields resident did not speak to the media, however, his spokesperson said words on his behalf. "Robert said all along that he believes in our system and he believes in God. He did not expect it to take 6-and-a-half years. This has been a terrible ordeal for him and his family. At this point all he wants to do is to move forward and put it behind him. He’s going to have more to say about all of this very soon.
But for right now, he’d be more inclined to be with his family, collect himself and get strong again. But we’ll be hearing from him soon about all of this. Again, he thanks everyone for their support, and he thanks our system of justice for seeing him through. And he thanks God for his strength and his love," Allan Mayer, Kelly’s spokesperson said after the superstar was whisked away in a Black SUV.
Prosecutors said they will also put it behind them, for now, unless evidence surfaces that prompts them to bring forth charges; they accept the jury’s decision. Cook County State’s Attorney Richard Devine said, "As we must, we accept the verdict of the jury in this case. This prosecution is one we have no reservations about."
Lead prosecutor Shauna Boliker said not having the alleged victim on the stand played a significant role in the case and added that she was never subpoenaed. "We were not going to re-victimize her." Boliker said she was not caught off-guard by the verdict. "Nothing surprises us," she said and called the their witnesses courageous.
"It was a difficult thing for them to do. They care about her." Robert Hoelingoetter, Boliker’s partner, said their case was solid and he would not have changed the way they tried it. When asked if they thought Kelly would continue with the child pornography they believe he engaged in, Devine said, "We hope people get a lesson from this and don’t think this is free territory for them now." So what was it that sent Kelly home instead of to a jail cell?
The lack of a positive identification for the female in the video, jurors told reporters. Only five of the 12 jurors agreed to speak to the media. All declined to give their names and to be photographed. And, only one of the five, a Black man in his 40s who is a self-avowed Christian, said his original verdict was guilty.
The others refused to disclose their initial vote. The jury–three women and nine men–did not initially reach a unanimous decision. During the first three tallies, "not guilty" remained the majority. They said it was the lack of evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that kept Kelly out of the Illinois prison system.
At issue wasn’t the mole, or lack thereof, nor was it the identification of Kelly as the man in the video, some jurors said. The jury also discounted the entire Edwards family because of their division. Several members of the alleged victim’s family said she was in the video, and several said she was not. The verdict hinged on whether the jury believed 100 percent that the alleged victim was who the prosecution said she was.
"After careful deliberations, we arrived at the verdict. “The lack of evidence to convict, guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, was the issue," said a white female juror, who is an aspiring police officer.
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