R. Kelly’s legal team says prosecutors ‘blindsided’ them with new allegations, ask they be kept out of trial
CHICAGO — Lawyers for indicted singer R. Kelly have hit back on a request by federal prosecutors to admit new evidence of sexual abuse at his upcoming trial in New York, saying in a court filing over the weekend they were “blindsided” and have no time to prepare an adequate defense.
The motion asked U.S. District Court Judge Ann Donnelly to deny prosecutors’ attempt to add 15 new alleged victims to the case, which alleges a conspiracy by Kelly to use his music career to serve his own illegal sexual appetites.
“Given the nearness of trial, the defense is not given ample amount of time to ensure an adequate opportunity to assess the evidence, the purpose for which the evidence is offered,” and whether prosecutors had the legal basis for their request, attorneys Thomas Farinella and Nicole Blank Becker wrote in the 13-page motion late Friday.
Kelly, 54, is scheduled to go on trial Aug. 9 in Brooklyn on racketeering charges alleging he ran a criminal enterprise that recruited women and underage girls for illegal sexual contact, then isolated and threatened them to keep them under control.
The allegations in the indictment include dozens of acts involving six victims, identified only as Jane Does 1 through 6.
But a 55-page motion filed July 23, prosecutors said they want to bring in additional evidence involving sexual abuse, hush payments, unlawful imprisonment and other crimes dating back 30 years that are “directly relevant to and inextricably intertwined with the evidence of the charged crimes.”
Among the new evidence prosecutors want the jury to hear: Kelly allegedly sexually abused a 17-year-old boy he’d met at a Chicago McDonald’s in December 2006; he secretly arranged to marry 15-year-old phenom singer Aaliyah to “shield himself” from criminal charges after he allegedly got her pregnant; and he allegedly talked about bribing a Cook County Circuit Court clerk for information when he was under investigation in 2019.
Kelly’s lawyers said in response that prosecutors “blindsided” them with the allegations about the sexual abuse of the boy, which was the first to involve a male victim and would have led to additional questions about sexual orientation on the questionnaire that went out to potential jurors last month.
The new allegations also contend the first boy, identified only as John Doe #1, introduced Kelly to a second teenage boy identified as John Doe #2, with whom Kelly also allegedly had an improper sexual relationship.
“The topic of sexual orientation has become as controversial as politics,” Kelly’s attorneys wrote. “This topic would have been ripe for questioning in the jury questionnaire. ... There is no question that the only purpose for which government seeks to introduce evidence from the John Does is purely salacious and sensational reasons.”
The motion also stated there was “absolutely no physical proof, nor circumstantial proof,” that the new allegations involving Aaliyah — identified in the indictment as Jane Doe #1 — are true, and even if there was such evidence, she can’t be questioned about it since she died in a plane crash nearly 20 years ago.
“Therefore, the additional information the government seeks to introduce regarding (Aaliyah) is nothing more than conjecture and an effort to further shape their narrative,” the motion stated.
Kelly’s attorneys also objected to prosecutors failing to identify the alleged new victims by name, which they say puts them at a “disadvantage when it comes to adequately preparing” cross-examinations of witnesses.
Donnelly is expected to rule on whether the new evidence can come in to the trial after a pretrial conference in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn this week.
Opening statements are scheduled for Aug. 18. The trial is expected to last at least a month.
Kelly, who is being held at a federal jail in Brooklyn, also faces charges in U.S. District Court in Chicago related to alleged sex abuse of minors, as well as separate indictments brought in Cook County.
