Legal hurdles would look familiar in any new R. Kelly case

CHICAGO (AP) — Prosecutors will have to clear a series of high legal hurdles if they intend to charge R. Kelly and convict him, even if there’s video evidence.

One case illustrates the difficulties: The R&B star’s own 2008 trial at which he was acquitted. At the heart of that child pornography trial was a VHS recording that prosecutors said showed Kelly, in his 30s at the time, having sex with a girl as young as 13 sometime between 1998 and 2000.

Speculation that Kelly, now 52, could face new charges arose after attorney Michael Avenatti said he recently gave prosecutors a VHS tape of Kelly having sex with an underage girl, although it’s not clear when it allegedly was recorded.

The office of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx hasn’t commented about whether a grand jury has convened to consider charges against Kelly. But Foxx may feel emboldened to bring new charges in the #MeToo era, said one legal scholar.

“Because they couldn’t get the conviction in 2008, the state’s attorney’s office may feel justice wasn’t done and they may want to take another stab at it,” said DePaul University College of Law professor Monu Bedi, who teaches criminal law and procedure and has followed the Kelly case closely.

Kelly’s attorney, Steve Greenberg, has said his client “never knowingly had sex with an underage woman.”

“If R. Kelly is charged with anything, we will address it in court. I am confident he will leave through the front door,” Greenberg told The Associated Press.

Prosecutors in 2008 played the 27-minute VHS tape — entered as “People’s Exhibit No. 1” — nearly every day for jurors during the monthlong trial. In it, a man has sex with a young female, who is not wearing any clothes for most of the recording. He speaks to her in a hushed voice, and she calls him “Daddy.”

But in the end, jurors took just seven hours to deliberate before acquitting Kelly on all 14 child pornography counts. As the verdict was read aloud, tears streamed down Kelly’s face.

“Thank you, Jesus,” the singer said over and over in a soft voice.

Afterward, lead trial prosecutor Shauna Boliker told reporters the acquittal “shows the world how difficult this crime is to prosecute.”

Prosecutors didn’t explain in 2008 why they chose not to charge and try Kelly for sexual assault, though legal experts said it almost certainly had to do with the alleged victim’s unwillingness to testify. Child pornography is, or should have been, easier to prove without a cooperating victim.

Statute of limitations is also an issue.