Aug 6, 2007 6:26 am US/Central
Surprise Witness In R. Kelly Child Porn Trial?
CHICAGO (STNG) ―
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R. Kelly (File Photo)
Scott Gries/Getty Images
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, when R&B singer R. Kelly goes on trial for alleged child pornography Sept. 17, his attorneys plan to call to the stand the woman prosecutors say was the underage girl in the sex video.
The woman, who turns 23 in September, is expected to testify she is not the girl in the video.
Prosecutors are expected to call to the stand her friends, relatives, friends' parents and others to testify she was the girl in the video and appears to be about 14 when it was made.
The video shows a man prosecutors say is Kelly engaging in sex acts with and urinating on the young girl. Out of an original 21 counts of child pornography against Kelly, 14 remain. The singer-songwriter, who has sold 37 million albums, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Kelly refers to the girl as his "god-daughter" on the album liner notes of his "TP2.com" album. Her father played bass for Kelly. The girl and her parents reportedly have told police and a grand jury that she was not the girl in the video.
But the girl's aunt confirmed for the Sun-Times it was her niece on the video and that she appeared to be about 14 at the time.
At a court hearing two summers ago, the girl's former best friend testified it was her friend in the video and that she remembers the time well, when both were 14, because both girls had the same haircut.
Though she did not mention it on the stand, court papers indicate the friend said she and the other girl hung out with Kelly starting in the summer after sixth grade.
Another friend, and her mother, said at the same 2005 hearing that the woman who will testify is the girl in the tape. The Sun-Times has never named her, because she was a minor at the time.
It has been more than five years since Kelly was first charged. On Wednesday, both sides agreed to be ready for trial Sept. 17.
The trial is expected to last three to four weeks.
(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2006. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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