Cross-examination of key witness to continue in R. Kelly trial

Disgraced R&B star R. Kelly’s attorneys are slated to begin cross-examining a key witness against him Friday, the 10th day of his Chicago federal trial on charges relating to child pornography and obstructing justice.

Lisa Van Allen, 42, took the stand for about five hours Thursday and testified that back in the late 1990s, she had sexual contact with Kelly and his underage goddaughter at the behest of the singer, who also filmed and directed their encounters. After she took one of the tapes and sent it to a friend in Kansas City, Kelly and his associates offered her $250,000 to get it back, she said.

Near the end of her direct examination, Van Allen broke down in tears as she described how Kelly’s associate, co-defendant Derrel McDavid, threatened her at a lawyer’s office in Chicago after she had failed a polygraph test about the tape.

“He said that I failed (the test), and that they should have murked me from the beginning” — that is, they should have killed her, she testified.

In a bombastic cross-examination, McDavid’s attorney Beau Brindley strongly disputed that characterization — pointing out that McDavid was Kelly’s business manager and suggesting it was all a lie.

“You didn’t have any reason to believe that he was some sort of murderous accountant, did you?” Brindley asked.

Brindley asked why, if Van Allen’s goal was to keep people from seeing the sex tape, she didn’t just destroy it after she stole it.

“I could’ve if that thought had crossed my mind,” she said. She also denied taking the tape because she wanted to use it to extort Kelly for money.

Kelly, 55, is charged with 13 counts of production of child pornography, conspiracy to produce child pornography and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Also on trial are McDavid and another associate, Milton “June” Brown, who, according to the indictment, schemed to buy back incriminating sex tapes that had been taken from Kelly’s collection and hide years of alleged sexual abuse of underage girls.

Jurors in the closely watched case have so far heard from 14 other witnesses, including Jane, who testified last week Kelly videotaped sexual encounters with her when she was just 14, then pressured and ultimately paid off her and her family to remain silent. Clips from three of those videos were shown to the jury last week.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com

mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com