R.Kelly Trial Update:
Girl´s family come
Kelly, 41, is charged with videotaping himself engaging in sex acts with a girl 13 to 16 years old. If convicted of child pornography, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
Shonna Edwards, 27, said she was formerly in a singing group with her cousin, who prosecutors allege is the underage girl in the tape. The group toured throughout Europe in the late 1990s, she said.
“Was the female in the [sex] tape your cousin?” asked defense lawyer Ed Genson.
“No, she definitely wasn’t her,” Edwards said.
Prosecutors showed each of the three defense witnesses — Shonna Edwards, Charlotte Edwards and Leroy Edwards — a photo of the alleged victim next to a frame from the sex video. The side-by-side pictures were projected on a large screen.
Prosecutors asked them if it was “possible” the photos were of the same girl. Each witness said no.
Cross-examining Leroy Edwards, the alleged victim’s uncle, prosecutor Robert Heilingoetter sounded incredulous.
“And it’s your testimony that you don’t recognize this girl?” he asked.
“No, I don’t,” Leroy Edwards responded.
Shonna Edwards admitted her singing group thanked R. Kelly in the acknowledgments on its CD. Shonna’s father Leroy, who managed the group, testified Kelly provided “encouraging words and some motivation” for the group.
Asked if she thought the man on the tape was Kelly, Shonna Edwards said, “that does not appear to be him.”
The testimony from the relatives — including Charlotte Edwards, the girl’s aunt — stands in sharp contrast to that of other relatives who testified that the girl in the tape is their family member, now 23.
It is not clear yet whether the girl herself will testify for the defense, though she told a grand jury she’s not on the tape.
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
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