After long delays, arguments begin in R. Kelly trial

CHICAGO – The paparazzi and TV news crews have spent weeks scouting the Cook County Criminal Courts Building for the perfect spot to shoot arrivals, departures and stand-ups.

The judge presiding over the case sought advice from a fellow jurist in Santa Barbara (Calif.) County on how to handle a case involving an international celebrity and the media blitz sure to follow.

Inside the freshly painted courthouse, reporters from MTV News, Jet and Blender magazines jockeyed for seats with amused local journalists.

In a city where prosecutors took down gangster Al Capone and high-profile courtroom dramas normally feature corrupt politicians and mobsters, the child pornography case against rhythm-and-blues superstar R. Kelly that began this week has brought to Chicago a relatively unusual legal experience: the salacious celebrity trial.

Nearly six years after Kelly was indicted for allegedly filming himself having sex with a girl who may have been as young as 13 at the time, opening arguments in the case began Tuesday, with prosecutors and the defense team sparring over the 14 counts of child pornography that are tied to the nearly decade-old home movie.

Almost immediately, both sides focused on the controversial tape which, according to prosecutors, shows a man handing cash to a young female and the pair engaging in various sexual acts. The tape was “the production of R. Kelly” and illustrates “frame by disgusting frame” the victimization of a child, Assistant State’s Attorney Shauna Boliker said Tuesday.

“This case is about child pornography that was created, staged, produced and starred in by the defendant that sits before you, Robert Kelly,” Boliker told jurors.

Kelly, who was born Robert S. Kelly, has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, the 41-year-old Grammy-winning artist, who grew up in a rough public housing project on the city’s south side, and has sold tens of millions of records, could face up to 15 years in prison.

Kelly’s defense lawyer, Sam Adam Jr., argued that Kelly is not the man seen on the tape. The alleged victim, now an adult, also has consistently stated that she is not the person featured in the video.

Since the charges were filed in 2002, there have been nearly as many strange delays and courtroom odd moments as pretrial motions – more than 30 – filed by the defense. Kelly, who had to check in with the court each day spent outside Illinois, suffered from appendicitis. The lead prosecutor had a child. Cook County Judge Vincent M. Gaughan fell off a ladder, injuring himself.

In 2007, a woman awaiting a hearing on a probation violation used her cell phone camera to take pictures of Kelly inside the courtroom. Gaughan sent her to jail for two days and had the phone destroyed.

Earlier in May, a local radio reporter nearly lost his media credentials after he offered a bag of doughnuts to courtroom deputies.

Meanwhile, a Chicago Tribune reporter was questioned by Gaughan after a juror told him that the paper had tried to contact him at home. It turned out to be a telemarketer selling newspaper subscriptions. Some critics say that Gaughan has kept too tight a rein on courtroom proceedings, noting that many documents and hearings have been either sealed or closed to the press.

Advocates counter that Gaughan, who issued a gag order blocking attorneys and court staff from talking about the case, is simply curtailing potential problems in one of the biggest cases seen in this courthouse since the 1980 murder trial of serial killer John Wayne Gacy.

But some fans wouldn’t be denied the chance to see their idol: As the singer left for lunch Tuesday, a half-dozen young female fans outside Gaughan’s courtroom shrieked, “I love you!” Court officers quickly corralled the screaming girls and ushered them into an elevator.