CHICAGO (AP) — On the first day of his child pornography trial in Chicago, a suit-clad R. Kelly faced nearly 150 Cook County residents, bowed his head slightly, smiled and said, "Hello."
ADVERTISEMENT
It probably behooved the R&B superstar to make as good a first impression as possible with these particular men and women: A dozen of them are expected to end up on a jury that could find him guilty and send him to prison for up to 15 years.
Known for sexually charged hits like "Bump N' Grind," Kelly, 41, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he videotaped himself having sex with a girl as young as 13.
After introducing Kelly to the jurors on Friday, Cook County Circuit Judge Vincent Gaughan read the 14-count indictment against him. The initial session with potential jurors in Gaughan's stately, colonnade courtroom lasted only about 30 minutes, and reporters were not allowed in; one court official said there weren't enough seats.
Some of the potential jurors looked uncomfortable, and at least a few placed their hands over their eyes as the judge read some of the more graphic sections of the indictments, said Verna Sadock, a sketch artist who was in the room.
Each count is only a few sentences long and does not go into details about the allegations or possible evidence.
read on