R Kelly - Part 1

R. Kelly, born Robert Kelly, was arrested in Florida after an investigation of a videotape recorded between November 1997 and February, allegedly showed Kelly having sex with an under aged girl.

The video was first brought to the attention of authorities after the Chicago Sun-Times received it and turned it over to the sex crimes division of the Chicago Police Department.

In a statement released by R. Kelly's attorney, Edward Genson, the R&B star said, "Even though I don't believe any of these charges are warranted, I'm grateful that I will have a chance to establish the truth about me in a court of law. I have complete faith in our system of justice, and I'm confident that when all the facts come out, people will see that I'm no criminal."

Prior to the indictment, investigators interviewed more than 50 witnesses who identified R. Kelly as the person on the video. The video was also checked by the FBI and considered it authentic.

'The charge is that there's a young lady under the age of 18 on that tape and there isn't,' Kelly's lawyer Ed Genson told The Associated Press. 'That's simply the stance that I'm taking. We're going to court and we'll disprove that she was underage.'

The girl on the tape was allegedly the daughter of an associate of Kelly's and fourteen years old at the time that the video was taken. Both the girl and her parents have denied the allegations.

This wasn't the first time R. Kelly faced accusations of engaging in sex with minors. He settled two lawsuits by two women who said he had sex with them when they were minors. A third lawsuit by another woman accusing R. Kelly of forcing her to have an abortion after impregnating her when she was a teen-ager is still pending.

On June 13, 2008, a Chicago jury deliberated about seven hours before returning not guilty verdicts on all 14 counts of child pornography.

See Also: R. Kelly Acquitted of Porn Charges