CHICAGO — R. Kelly was acquitted of all charges Friday after less than a day of deliberations in his child-pornography trial, ending a six-year ordeal for the R&B superstar.
Kelly dabbed his face with a handkerchief and hugged each of his four attorneys after the verdict — not guilty on all 14 counts — was read. The Grammy-winning singer had faced 15 years in prison if convicted.
Minutes later, surrounded by bodyguards, he left the courthouse without comment. Dozens of fans screamed and cheered as he climbed into a waiting sport utility vehicle .
“All I heard (from Kelly) while those 14 verdicts were being read was ‘Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus,’ ” said Sam Adam Jr., one of his attorneys.
Prosecutors had argued that a videotape mailed to the Chicago Sun-Times in 2002 showed Kelly engaged in graphic sex acts with a girl as young as 13 at the time. Kelly, 41, and the now- 23-year-old alleged victim had denied they were the ones on the tape. Neither testified during the trial.
“Robert said all along that he believed in our system and he believed in God — and that when all the facts came out in court, he would be cleared of these terrible charges,” according to a statement from his publicist, Allen Mayer. “But he never dreamed it would take six and a half years. This has been a terrible ordeal for him and his family, and at this point all he wants to do is move forward and put it behind him.”
The prosecution’s star witness was a woman who said she engaged in three-way sex with Kelly and the alleged victim. Defense attorneys argued the man on the tape didn’t have a large mole on his back; Kelly has such a mole.
The monthlong trial centered on whether Kelly was the man who appears on a sexually graphic, 27-minute videotape at the heart of the case, and whether a female who also appears on it was underage.
Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Shauna Boliker said she believed the female on the tape was a victim, not a prostitute, as the defense had contended.
“This shows the world how difficult this crime is to prosecute,” she said. “It also takes the soul of the victim, the heart of the victim.”
