Connect with us

Celebrity, Food Years Down!

R. Kelly back in court, another trial?

Never Pork

Published

on

This week, R. Kelly, a convicted sex offender and R&B artist, will face a federal jury trial where armies of prosecutors and lawyers will try to condemn him once again.

11 months after his conviction in a first federal trial in New York and 7 weeks after he was sentenced to 30 years in prison on racketeering and sex trafficking charges, Kelly’s next trial is scheduled to begin on Monday in his birthplace of Chicago.

For what reason is R. Kelly being tried once more?

Briefly put, he faces parallel charges in two federal courts and two state courts. Another federal case has been filed against him, this one in New York on the same day that charges were filed against him in New Jersey.

Independent from one another are federal prosecutors in each of the districts and states. They are free to file separate lawsuits against the same defendant if they so want. Prosecutors on the federal level are not required to provide an explanation for their actions, although they may do so if they believe it will help their case.

It can be difficult to manage the logistics of making charging determinations, and this was especially true during the COVID-19 outbreak when federal courthouses were shuttered or subject to restrictions. Videoconferences were used for several deliberations. Kelly, who has been in federal custody since 2019, was shuttled between prisons in Chicago and New York in preparation for his trials.

When was the first trial, and what happened there?

Trial proceedings for Kelly began in the summer of 2021 in Brooklyn, New York, in the Eastern District of the state. Kelly, 55, was found guilty on all nine charges of sex trafficking and racketeering after a jury deliberated for two days after hearing gruesome testimony from dozens of accusers and witnesses over the course of six weeks. Since his 2019 arrest, he has spent most of his time in Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center, where he was sentenced on June 29, 2022 and is currently awaiting this second trial.

Compared to the first attempt, what has changed for this second go-around?

The courthouse is in a new place. A unique judge, U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber, is sitting in judgment. There is a greater variety and quantity in the federal prosecutors and defense teams.

Different from other defense attorneys, Kelly’s main one (he has changed lawyers several times since 2019). Jennifer Bonjean is the person who successfully argued for the reversal of Bill Cosby’s 2018 sex offenses conviction on constitutional grounds, which the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ultimately did.

When did R. Kelly arrive in Chicago, and what are the nature of the charges against him?

Producing child pornography, inciting a juvenile to participate in unlawful sexual activity, and conspiracy to obstruct justice are among the 13 accusations filed in 2019.

And Kelly isn’t the only one on trial: Prosecutors in the federal Northern District of Illinois claim that two of his co-defendants, Derrel McDavid and Milton “June” Brown, both former associates and workers, assisted him in the alleged crimes.

Due to a lack of courtroom space and staffing, Leinenweber estimated at a pretrial hearing on August 3 that the trial would last no more than around four weeks. According to him, masks, distance, and biweekly testing are still in effect at the courthouse due to the presence of COVID-19.

Why do you think the Chicago trial’s jury pool will be different?

Only the court, attorneys, and defendants will have access to information on the jurors, and their identities will be kept secret. The “anonymous” jury in the New York trial was chosen at random and their identities were kept secret.

The goal of keeping information on jurors secret, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Pozolos, is to prevent the public or the media from contacting them in an effort to sway their verdict.

Legal counsel for McDavid, Bonjean and Beau Brindley, argued against the use of a “secret” jury in Chicago, arguing that the government has not shown any evidence to suggest that the jury will be harassed.

According to Brindley, “any time you have a jury treated in that fashion, the jurors realize from the beginning that there is something they need to be worried about.” This may lead to a decrease in the number of persons ready to serve on a jury.

Especially on social media, Leinenweber claims, “huge groups of people feel strongly about it and are actively expressing their disapproval” with Kelly’s prosecution.

“A confidential jury might help in this case,” he added, “as long as we emphasize to (jurors) that we don’t want to run the chance (the public or media) will approach them unlawfully.”

Can accusers and witnesses maintain their anonymity?

Some of the accusers at the New York trial gave testimony under assumed names, while others chose to remain anonymous. For privacy reasons, their names were redacted from the indictments.

The criteria for both witnesses and accused in the Chicago trial have not been finalized and are still a point of contention.

What’s Your Take?

Like, Share, Comment, Tweet it Out!

“It’s Your World, You Decide!”

ISTHATPORKS TAKE:

Damn, FOOD YEARS! continue to go down for R.Kelly. He does have an appeal coming up. We hope he finds peace in what looks like a lot of PORK to overcome.

Continue Reading

Celebrity, Food Years Down!

R. Kelly guilty of child porn in Chicago trial

Never Pork

Published

on

According to the Associated Press, a federal jury in Chicago found R. Kelly guilty of making child pornography and assaulting juveniles in his second sex crimes trial in two years.

Disgraced R&B singer Robert Sylvester Kelly, whose real name is Robert Kelly, is currently serving 30 years from a case handed to him in New York City. Kelly was found guilty of using his music career to facilitate a decades-long sex trafficking operation. Eleven of his alleged sexual assault victims testified against him in that trial.

Nine women and two men testified against him, alleging that he promised to help them advance in the music industry but almost never followed through.

Many of the women who encountered Kelly while they were minors have alleged that he directed them to have sex with him and each other, and that the singer obsessively documented the interactions.

After Kelly’s key witness in a 2008 Illinois child pornography prosecution refused to testify, the trial’s focus shifted to the sex tapes in a new trial that began in Chicago on August 13.

The now 37-year-old victim, who only goes by her nickname “Jane,” testified with the prosecution along with three other victims.

Three recordings depicting Kelly abusing Jane while she was a child were shown to the jury. One tape was turned over to the authorities after being provided anonymously to the Chicago Sun-Times in 2002; in it, a woman can be heard saying, “My 14-year-old body.”

Jane said that she was the teen seen in all three films.

Also on trial for their alleged roles in the conspiracy were Kelly’s ex-business manager Derrel McDavid and an ex-assistant, Milton “June” Brown.

The jury found McDavid and Brown not guilty of conspiring to obtain child pornography. Both Kelly and McDavid were cleared of obstruction of justice conspiracy charges from an earlier case.

What’s Your Take?

Like, Share, Comment, Tweet it Out!

“It’s Your World, You Decide!”

Continue Reading

Celebrity, Food Years Down!

Oprah thinks Prince Harry and Meghan Markle can make peace with the Royals.

Never Pork

Published

on

Oprah Winfrey is optimistic that the feuding royals would be able to put their differences behind them after the death of Queen Elizabeth.

The 68-year-old billionaire was the focus of an explosive interview with the Sussexes in March 2021.

In the year following Harry and Meghan’s announcement that they would be leaving their respective positions as working members of the royal family, the interview took place.

The pair from Los Angeles caused controversy with their allegations about the British royal family. According to the former actress, a royal family member made racial comments about her son, and her treatment while working for the royal family caused her to consider suicide.

At the time, opinion polls revealed that Harry and Meghan’s popularity in the UK had dropped dramatically, while polls in the US suggested the opposite.

There have been some hopeful signals that the British royal family might put their differences behind them since Queen Elizabeth’s death.

In discussing the possibility of peace among the royal family, Oprah brings up her father’s death.

According to Oprah Winfrey, the royal family’s ability to support one another through their grief could help mend old fractures.
In an interview with Extra TV that aired yesterday, Winfrey said, “This is what I think, I think in all families…you know, my father passed recently, this summer… and when all families come together for a common ceremony, the ritual of, you know, burying your dead, there’s an opportunity for peacemaking, and hopefully, there will be that,” 

Oprah’s remarks follow the Prince and Princess of Wales’s united front with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as they greeted mourners during the funeral for Queen Elizabeth.

As of Commonwealth Day in 2020, Harry and Markle had not made a public appearance together with Prince William and Kate Middleton.

After Elizabeth’s passing, Prince Harry and King Charles both made statements that hinted at possible reunion.

Prince Harry hinted at a possible thawing of relations between him and his father in an homage to his grandmother posted on the Archewell website.

“Granny, while this final parting brings us great sadness, I am forever grateful for all of our first meetings—from my earliest childhood memories with you, to meeting you for the first time as my Commander-in-Chief, to the first moment you met my darling wife and hugged your beloved great-grandchildren,” Harry wrote in a statement, continuing:

“I cherish these times shared with you, and the many other special moments in between. You are already sorely missed, not just by us, but by the world over. And as it comes to first meetings, we now honor my father in his new role as King Charles III.”

In his first king speech, Charles made peace overtures, declaring his love for Harry and Meghan.

During his interview with Oprah, Harry revealed that he and his father have been estranged for some time and that the new king has been ignoring his phone calls for an extended length of time.

What’s Your Take?

Like, Share, Comment, Tweet it Out!

“It’s Your World, You Decide!”

Continue Reading

Celebrity, Food Years Down!

Ne-Yo says the bond broken with his wife has cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars

Never Pork

Published

on

Ne-Yo, a Grammy-winning musician, is going to court because his ex-wife has made scathing and incriminating statements about their marriage.

After eight years of marriage and the birth of three children together, Ne-wife Yo’s Crystal Renay Smith filed for divorce in September 2022. She claims she can no longer put up with Ne-yo’s infidelity, especially because he allegedly has a child with one of his three mistresses.

WBLS reports that the singer is fed up with what she calls Renay’s “sympathy seeking” media appearances. This is purportedly the text of the motion condemning her “reckless and disgusting” actions.

Since the release of his new album, he has lost almost $400,000 in wages linked with public appearances, professional bookings, and promotional activities.”

Ne-Yo wants a judge to force Smith to delete all posts referencing their marriage.

What’s Your Take?

Like, Share, Comment, Tweet it Out!

“It’s Your World, You Decide!”

Continue Reading

Trending