Embattled singer, R. Kelly has filed two motions in Chicago’s federal court requesting a new trial or an outright reversal of his conviction on child pornography and other sex-abuse-related charges.
According to reports, the singer’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean requested an acquittal on all counts. Bonjean argued, among other things, that there was a lack of evidence that Kelly coerced his underage victims and that a witness revealed false information in court.
Bonjean claimed Darrel Turner, an expert on sexual predators called to testify by the government, made false statements, including ones detailing the amount of money he charged the prosecution.
Turner testified that federal prosecutors paid him $250 per hour for his work, but Bonjean’s motion claimed his contract reflected an hourly rate of $450 per hour.
Turner also testified he worked on the case for two hours before testifying, but Bonjean wrote that an invoice showed he charged the feds for 6.5 hours of trial preparation.
Bonjean argued prosecutors knew Turner’s testimony regarding how much he was paid for his work was false and didn’t correct it. She claimed that entitles Kelly to a new trial.
“Had the jurors known that Dr Turner actively misled them, the jurors would likely have rejected his testimony outright,” Bonjean wrote.
In her bid to have Kelly’s conviction tossed out entirely, Bonjean argued federal prosecutors failed to prove Kelly knowingly took steps to “persuade, induce, entice or coerce” Jane or the other victims to engage in illegal sexual activity.
Just so you know, last month in Chicago, a federal jury found R. Kelly guilty on three counts of child pornography, but he was acquitted of a conspiracy to obstruct justice charge accusing him and his team of fixing his state child pornography trial in 2008.
If you would recall, R. Kelly was previously sentenced to thirty years in prison after being convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking in New York. His sentencing for the federal charges is set for February 2023.
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