Nov 3, 2007 5:23 pm US/Central
Doctor Can't Testify For State In R. Kelly Case
CHICAGO (STNG) ―
Prosecutors in the child pornography case against R & B star R. Kelly will not be able to present an expert to testify that child victims of sexual abuse sometimes deny the abuse happened.
It was one of three rulings the judge in Kelly's case made Friday - one a victory for Kelly, another a victory for Cook County prosecutors and the last a draw.
Prosecutors won the right to let an expert testify that, in her opinion, the girl in the videotape engaging in sex acts with a man who appears to be Kelly appears to be underage.
Circuit Court Judge Vincent Gaughan said prosecutors cannot allow a doctor to testify that underage victims of pornography often respond to the trauma of the attack by delaying a cry for help. The judge said the alleged victim never has made a "delayed outcry" or any "outcry" in this case - and in fact has denied she was the child on the tape.
And Gaughan scheduled a Dec. 18 hearing on whether a medical doctor can testify that the vein pattern on Kelly's hands matches that of the man in the videotape.
Kelly faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of engaging in sex acts with a girl whom the Sun-Times has reported was 14 at the time the videotape was made.
Kelly's lawyers plan to call as a witness a girl whom prosecutors contend was the victim. The girl, whom Kelly refers to as his "goddaughter" in the liner notes of one of his albums, reportedly told a grand jury that she is not the girl on the tape.
Friends and acquaintances of the girl will take the stand, saying it was her on the tape.
As for the vein issue, Assistant State's Attorney Shauna Bolicker argued that she would only ask the doctor to make a "mere comparison,'' not say "proof-positive'' that the man on the tape is Kelly.
But Gaughan said he believed the vein identification would be scientific in nature and will hold the hearing to decide whether the doctor's testimony should be allowed.
(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2006. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
