Testimony in R. Kelly’s Chicago federal trial is expected to resume Thursday with cross-examination of a retired detective who investigated the initial allegations that Kelly was sexually abusing his teenage goddaughter.
Former Chicago police Det. Daniel Everett testified Wednesday that he interviewed the girl and her family in late 2000, but they all denied that Kelly did anything improper. And in 2002, after a sex tape surfaced purportedly showing Kelly having sexual contact with the girl, he tried to interview them again but he couldn’t contact them, he said.
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That’s because Kelly persuaded the girl and her parents to lie to authorities, prosecutors have argued, part of a pattern of covering up predatory behavior. Kelly was ultimately acquitted on child-pornography charges in Cook County court in 2008.
The tape is one of four at the center of the child-pornography charges against Kelly, who is accused along with former associates Derrel McDavid and Milton “June” Brown of conspiring to rig his trial.
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In opening statements, prosecutors painted Kelly as a serial predator, who had sexual contact with underage girls hundreds of times over the years. Five women are expected to testify over the course of the trial that Kelly sexually abused them when they were teenagers.
Kelly’s lead attorney Jennifer Bonjean, meanwhile, said prosecutors’ case “really does hinge on the testimony of liars, extortionists, (and) people who engaged in the business of trafficking pornography.”
Opening statements began Wednesday after two full days of jury selection. The 12 jurors and six alternates were sworn in late Tuesday; on Wednesday morning, one juror was replaced with an alternate after developing a medical issue. They are expected to hear evidence and arguments over roughly the next four weeks.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com
