News broke last week that prosecutors have gathered new evidence against 54-year-old R. Kelly. For example, the American singer is said to have abused a 17-year-old boy. Kelly’s lawyers now want to prevent the jurors from hearing this new testimony. According to the singer’s legal team, it can negatively affect the judges.
In addition, Kelly’s lawyers, who have already seen the mood, made it clear that they simply do not have time to prepare sufficiently for the new accusations. These were introduced only a few weeks before the start of the process.
Indeed, the new testimonies were not released by prosecutors until Friday, July 23. The testimony in question comes from a man who the singer abused at the age of 17. The two met at a McDonald’s branch in Chicago.
Then Robert Sylvester Kelly, the singer’s real name, invited the boy to his home. Initially, the boy came to the singer’s home with his parents, but then Kelly asked him to come alone next time. According to his testimony, the boy in question also did, and the abuse would have started. In addition, R. Kelly would not have had a relationship with another teenage boy much later.
No more time
When the testimonies were made public at the end of July, the lawyers of the American singer already responded in a statement to the American website TMZ. “This is yet another attempt to reshape my client’s image in the eyes of the public while the case is still ongoing.”
Meanwhile, Nicole Blank Becker and Thomas A. Farinella, the singer’s lawyers, have not given up. They are now making it clear that the evidence should not be included because it was released just four weeks before the start of the trial. They say they have no time to prepare for the new accusations.
In addition, according to them, the new testimonies can ensure that some jury members turn against the singer at the last minute because it concerns a homosexual’ relationship’.
R. Kelly’s lawyers insinuate that some members of the jury have negative prejudices against the LGBTQ+ community. That, in turn, would mean that the judges in question would have to be replaced, and there is simply no time for that anymore.
R. Kelly’s trial is set to resume in mid-August, and things aren’t looking good for the ‘I Believe I Can Fly’ singer. In addition to the recently surfaced testimonies, the musician has yet to defend himself against a series of other charges.
In February 2019, he allegedly bribed an employee of the court in exchange for information regarding his case. In addition, dozens of women accuse the rapper of (sexual) abuse. They testify that they should not only have sex with R.Kelly but also with each other.
The various women, who were often minors during the abuse, also say that they were often not allowed to eat for days as punishment and that their phones were taken so that they could not ask for help. If the American singer is now found guilty, he will have to go to jail for the rest of his life.
