Update on R. Kelly: verdict in Illinois trial expected next week, New York judge rules on $
New York:
Robert has amassed almost $30k in his commissary account over his three years of incarceration. After his 2021 trial and conviction in New York (he was found guilty of racketeering and eight counts of sex trafficking), he was sentenced to 30 years in prison, a $100,000 fine, and a statutory $40,000 penalty under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015. His restitution due to the victims has not yet been determined.
Last month, prosecutors asked prison officials to freeze the money in his inmate account, noting, "The defendant has not made any payments towards the substantial criminal monetary penalties imposed upon him at sentencing, even though payment was due immediately.” His lawyers fought it (they claimed the funds were impermissibly “confiscated”), but yesterday the judge ruled that the $27,828 seized from his account will go to a new interest-bearing account where it will cover a $900 court fine and then be applied to victim restitution once the court determines what the victims are owed. He now has a $500 commissary balance available.
Illinois:
R. Kelly's federal trial in Illinois is drawing to a close after four weeks of testimony. For a summary of the charges in the Illinois federal trial, see this previous post. Closing arguments are expected on Monday, and a verdict is expected later in the week.
The 14 year old girl depicted in the tape (which was the center of Robert's 2008 trial) testified using the pseudonym "Jane." She identified herself as the girl on the tape and confirmed her age at the time. Her mother, using the pseudonym "Susan," testified that she learned about the abuse when DCFS contacted her about the tape. At a meeting with Robert and his manager McDavid, Robert began by crying and apologizing. He then asked "Susan" and her husband, "Are you with us or are you not?" in a way that made her feel they would harm her family.
Robert told the family that they needed to get out of town immediately so he paid for them to go to the Bahamas and then Cancun. "Susan" and her husband both lost their jobs for leaving abruptly. When they returned, her husband began working for Robert. When their family received a grand jury subpoena, Robert hired a lawyer for them. Robert told the family he wanted them to say that the girl on the tape was not "Jane." When she was shown photos and video before the grand jury, she knew it was her daughter but she lied and said that it was not "Jane."
An IRS agent testified that "Susan" and her husband received $79,000 in payments from Robert's companies between 2006 and 2012. "Jane" also received payments from 2006 to 2015 through Robert's companies, some of them labeled "settlement." Robert also bought two cars for the family.
In 2013, Robert's former manager Derrel McDavid sued him and received a $1.3 million settlement. He was required to sign a confidentiality agreement that said if he revealed any personal or confidential information he knew about Robert, he would owe him $100,000 in damages.
R. Kelly did not take the stand during this trial.
Jim DeRogatis, the Chicago Sun-Times reporter who broke the R. Kelly story in 2000, was subpoenaed by the defense. He refused to testify (he was also named as a witness for the defense during Robert's 2008 trial and he refused to testify then as well).
Robert's former business manager, Derrel McDavid, is a co-defendant in this case. He testified for the last three days. Among his claims:
* He says he never watched the tape at the center of the 2008 trial (depicting Robert and a 14 year old girl). He claims that when the tape was shown during the 2008 trial, he only "glanced" back and forth when the video was shown and that he does not recall viewing sexual conduct. He claims that he believed that the tape was fake.
* When asked about the multiple lawsuits his client R. Kelly faced in the early 2000s, McDavid said he didn't know any of the details of the lawsuits, nor did he have any firsthand knowledge of any alleged victim's testimony. Robert's team settled many of these lawsuits out of court, but his business manager claims he had no knowledge of accusers' claims in this trial until he heard about them in court. Prosecutors pointed out that McDavid was aware that two of the women involved in the current trial sued and received settlements because the settlements were paid by McDavid on behalf of R. Kelly.
* He knew that Charles Freeman was paid $65,000 in exchange for returning one of Robert's sex tapes in 2001, but he claims that Freeman approached Robert's team. When the tape was retrieved, he claims that no one indicated that the female on the tape was underage.
* He claimed Barry Hankerson (R. Kelly's former manager and Aaliyah's uncle) had offered people money to lie about having had underage sex with Robert.
* He said he believed the various women who sued/accused R. Kelly were liars. He claimed that until this trial, he believed Robert was innocent. He said that during the course of this trial, he learned about things he had no idea about back then and that he's now embarrassed and sad.
ETA: I know it's hard to keep track of everything that has happened because there have been so many accusations, victims, and trials. The BBC website has a pretty good timeline of the various accusations and trials.
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Robert has amassed almost $30k in his commissary account over his three years of incarceration. After his 2021 trial and conviction in New York (he was found guilty of racketeering and eight counts of sex trafficking), he was sentenced to 30 years in prison, a $100,000 fine, and a statutory $40,000 penalty under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015. His restitution due to the victims has not yet been determined.
Last month, prosecutors asked prison officials to freeze the money in his inmate account, noting, "The defendant has not made any payments towards the substantial criminal monetary penalties imposed upon him at sentencing, even though payment was due immediately.” His lawyers fought it (they claimed the funds were impermissibly “confiscated”), but yesterday the judge ruled that the $27,828 seized from his account will go to a new interest-bearing account where it will cover a $900 court fine and then be applied to victim restitution once the court determines what the victims are owed. He now has a $500 commissary balance available.
Illinois:
R. Kelly's federal trial in Illinois is drawing to a close after four weeks of testimony. For a summary of the charges in the Illinois federal trial, see this previous post. Closing arguments are expected on Monday, and a verdict is expected later in the week.
The 14 year old girl depicted in the tape (which was the center of Robert's 2008 trial) testified using the pseudonym "Jane." She identified herself as the girl on the tape and confirmed her age at the time. Her mother, using the pseudonym "Susan," testified that she learned about the abuse when DCFS contacted her about the tape. At a meeting with Robert and his manager McDavid, Robert began by crying and apologizing. He then asked "Susan" and her husband, "Are you with us or are you not?" in a way that made her feel they would harm her family.
Robert told the family that they needed to get out of town immediately so he paid for them to go to the Bahamas and then Cancun. "Susan" and her husband both lost their jobs for leaving abruptly. When they returned, her husband began working for Robert. When their family received a grand jury subpoena, Robert hired a lawyer for them. Robert told the family he wanted them to say that the girl on the tape was not "Jane." When she was shown photos and video before the grand jury, she knew it was her daughter but she lied and said that it was not "Jane."
An IRS agent testified that "Susan" and her husband received $79,000 in payments from Robert's companies between 2006 and 2012. "Jane" also received payments from 2006 to 2015 through Robert's companies, some of them labeled "settlement." Robert also bought two cars for the family.
In 2013, Robert's former manager Derrel McDavid sued him and received a $1.3 million settlement. He was required to sign a confidentiality agreement that said if he revealed any personal or confidential information he knew about Robert, he would owe him $100,000 in damages.
R. Kelly did not take the stand during this trial.
Jim DeRogatis, the Chicago Sun-Times reporter who broke the R. Kelly story in 2000, was subpoenaed by the defense. He refused to testify (he was also named as a witness for the defense during Robert's 2008 trial and he refused to testify then as well).
Robert's former business manager, Derrel McDavid, is a co-defendant in this case. He testified for the last three days. Among his claims:
* He says he never watched the tape at the center of the 2008 trial (depicting Robert and a 14 year old girl). He claims that when the tape was shown during the 2008 trial, he only "glanced" back and forth when the video was shown and that he does not recall viewing sexual conduct. He claims that he believed that the tape was fake.
* When asked about the multiple lawsuits his client R. Kelly faced in the early 2000s, McDavid said he didn't know any of the details of the lawsuits, nor did he have any firsthand knowledge of any alleged victim's testimony. Robert's team settled many of these lawsuits out of court, but his business manager claims he had no knowledge of accusers' claims in this trial until he heard about them in court. Prosecutors pointed out that McDavid was aware that two of the women involved in the current trial sued and received settlements because the settlements were paid by McDavid on behalf of R. Kelly.
* He knew that Charles Freeman was paid $65,000 in exchange for returning one of Robert's sex tapes in 2001, but he claims that Freeman approached Robert's team. When the tape was retrieved, he claims that no one indicated that the female on the tape was underage.
* He claimed Barry Hankerson (R. Kelly's former manager and Aaliyah's uncle) had offered people money to lie about having had underage sex with Robert.
* He said he believed the various women who sued/accused R. Kelly were liars. He claimed that until this trial, he believed Robert was innocent. He said that during the course of this trial, he learned about things he had no idea about back then and that he's now embarrassed and sad.
ETA: I know it's hard to keep track of everything that has happened because there have been so many accusations, victims, and trials. The BBC website has a pretty good timeline of the various accusations and trials.
1 2 3 4