R. Kelly acquitted of child porn charges

By Nick Carey

CHICAGO, June 13 (Reuters Life!) - A jury acquitted R&B star R. Kelly of child pornography charges on Friday, finding he did not make an explicit videotape showing him having sex with an underage girl who called him "godfather."

Kelly, whose given name is Robert, cried and repeatedly whispered "thank you Jesus" after each not guilty finding was announced in the 14-count case, according to his lawyer. If found guilty, he could have faced a 15-year prison term.

The eight-man, four-woman jury deliberated about six hours over two days before delivering the verdict. The 14 counts referred to specific acts depicted in the tape.

Minutes after the verdict was announced in Cook County Criminal Court, a red-eyed Kelly, 41, strode out of the courthouse via a barricaded entrance without a word to reporters or fans screaming his name.

He waved and climbed into a sport utility vehicle with tinted windows.

Two teenage girls ran through a hallway in the venerable Chicago courthouse screaming, "He's not guilty!"

The 26-minute videotape that was the focus of the case featured oral sex, masturbation and other explicit acts and was handed over to police by a Chicago newspaper reporter in 2002. It had circulated widely on the underground video market.

'FOURTH-GENERATION TAPE'

Authorities said the tape was shot at Kelly's former Chicago home some time between January 1998 and November 2000, when the girl was 13 or 14.

"It's a fourth-generation tape filled with all sorts of video noise where you couldn't identify ... anything," Kelly's attorney Edward Genson said.

The tape was replayed in court for the jury, and the girl could be heard whispering "daddy" several times. Some of the girl's family members testified she considered Kelly her "godfather," and he frequently gave her cash gifts.

The girl, Roshona Landfair, sang in a group supported by the popular songwriter, singer and producer.

Neither Landfair, now 23, nor her parents testified at the three-week trial. She had previously denied she was the girl on the tape in testimony to a grand jury that indicted Kelly. Her father is a musician who has worked for Kelly.

Her absence was seen as a potential weakness for the prosecution and the defense, though both sides claimed the high ground for not having her testify.

Kelly also did not testify, and his attorneys argued that he was the victim of an extortion plot.