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How R. Kelly Got Off
Also, How R. Kelly Was Found Not Guilty Of 14 Counts of Child Pornography
 

rkelly1.jpgLet's face it — unless, due to some warped, wishful thinking, you are convinced that the real R. Kelly is "I Believe I Can Fly" and not "You Remind Me of My Jeep," or you are just such a die-hard fan that you are completely delusional, most people believe that R. Kelly did indeed film himself having sex with and pissing on his 14-year-old goddaughter, whether they're in the cut-off-his-balls or the she-was-old-enough-to-know-what-she-wanted camp. You believe this because you saw the tape — which very clearly shows R. Kelly and a sickeningly young girl in an ugly wood-paneled room one might also have seen if one had tuned into his MTV Cribs episode — or because you know that R. Kelly married a 15-year-old Aaliyah, or because you've heard about the multiple settlements he's paid to underage girls who have accused him of sexual misconduct.

The jury saw the same tape many of us did (I was in college; it still makes me queasy to think about it). And, from what they're saying in post-trial interviews, they saw what everyone else saw. So why the hell did R. Kelly get away with it? There was one little thing. Well, one big thing.

R. Kelly's bumbling defense team put forth a lot of theories that didn't hold much water — they pointed to the missing mole (that a forensic expert actually found), and the fact that the immediate family of the victim didn't beat R. Kelly up after seeing the tape (they might have drained his bank account instead). But it wasn't what was said in court that got R. Kelly off. Quite simply, it was what was missing.

The victim: There wasn't one. Or at least, there wasn't one who was willing to testify. The victim says it wasn't her. A handful of family members say it wasn't her. Without that key testimony there just wasn't enough evidence.

The star witness: Instead of helping the prosecution's case, the much-hyped star witness probably hurt it. Laura Van Allen turned out to be sort of an awful person. To quote Slate, "if your star witness is the kind of character who would have a threesome with R. Kelly, you probably need to find yourself a better star witness."

R. Kelly's teenager-loving past: That marriage to Aaliyah? Those cash settlement to teenagers he had sex with? The judge didn't allow them in court. It's far easier to doubt the veracity of the tape if you don't know that someone is a known perv with a fetish for adolescents.

So that's that. The victim wouldn't come forward, the star witness sucked, and the (true) rumors we've been hearing about R. Kelly since the mid-90s weren't discussed in court. R. Kelly's free to seduce teenagers with impunity. Considering this dude's intelligence level, I'm not holding out hope that he will have learned his lesson.

Comments (27)

No. 1 · DEAF FEMINIST PUNK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Paedophiles everywhere REJOICE!!! Go on keep fucking little girls/boys and get away with it!!!

Fucking disgusting.

Posted: Jun 16, 2008 at 2:56 pm
No. 2 · blackmistressdiva

I'm rarely surprised by crap, but this really did shock me. I thought this mofo was done.

btw…wucca, wucca Stereohypers!! What's been crackin' up in here lately??? ;-)

Posted: Jun 16, 2008 at 3:11 pm
No. 3 · solitaire

If the "victim" refused to testify against him, and denied it was even her, then there was no victim or case to prosecute in the first place.

Posted: Jun 16, 2008 at 3:11 pm
No. 4 · Loudmouth Protestant

R. Kelly is going to reap what he is sowing right now. He may have gotten away with it in this moment but I believe it's going to come back to him. It all comes down to the day of judgment when he'll stand before God.

And I say this just like Jules did in "Pulp Fiction" as taken from the Bible:

"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee."

Posted: Jun 16, 2008 at 3:12 pm
No. 5 · Anonymiss

He better hope that karma doesn't hit home considering that he has 2 little girls.

Posted: Jun 16, 2008 at 3:34 pm
No. 6 · blackmistressdiva

^^I totally agree with you, 'miss.

Posted: Jun 16, 2008 at 3:42 pm
No. 7 · Loudmouth Protestant

'Miss I agree with you too. I pray the same too. I know there are certainly times when the iniquities of the parents pass on to the children and root themselves there but we just have to pray that it doesn't in this case. I hope that one day he'll just confess.

Posted: Jun 16, 2008 at 3:47 pm
No. 8 · blackmistressdiva

Loudmouth - Someones father/brother/uncle will probably end up killing him. I'm totally serious. He is going to mess with the wrong girl one day.

Posted: Jun 16, 2008 at 3:52 pm
No. 9 · Kandee

Gosh…people wasted their time on trying to get Britney's kids taken away from her. They should have focused on Kelly - making sure he can't come within 100 miles of his girls, just in case he decides to turn his attention to them.

He needs to be stopped.

Posted: Jun 16, 2008 at 4:18 pm
No. 10 · kelli

What's also disappointing is that Urban radio stations are playing his music overtime. These same stations were joking about the Pied Pedo and now they are playing his songs as if nothing ever happened. Ugh!

Posted: Jun 16, 2008 at 4:28 pm
No. 11 · LeAnne@hairsmystory.com

I cannot believe this mess. We waited all these years and he just got off. A disgrace to the black race, that one is.

Posted: Jun 16, 2008 at 4:32 pm
No. 12 · Sharon

Well, the one and only most important thing to do is; DON'T BUY THE CREEPS MUSIC!!! THEN, write to your radio stations, and don't pay money to hear him perform i.e. concerts, etc. Just makes me sick. Just seems like celebrities can get away with all the horrible things-your average guy would have had the book thrown at him………

Posted: Jun 16, 2008 at 5:28 pm
No. 13 · Loudmouth Protestant

Yeah I was at a wedding this weekend and as soon as "Step in the Name of Love" came on, I left the dance floor and took some friends with me.

Posted: Jun 16, 2008 at 5:40 pm
No. 14 · She's Come Undone

I usually lurk on these sites but Solitaire's comment really got to me. To be clear, there most certainly IS a victim whether she identifies herself as one or not. Just think of a battered woman. So, if she's standing in front of you with two black eyes and a broken arm, is she no longer a victim because she doesn't want to report the crime or serve as a witness? There are many reasons women don't report a crime, but that DOES NOT make them less of a victim. This woman has probably embarked on a new life where many don't know that she is "that" girl. Admitting that this vile act took place might have put her back in a place she could not recover from. Moreover, just look at how little sympathy a 13/14 yr. old Black child who was urinated on garnered from her own community? I don't agree with her decision not to testify but I certainly can understand.

This case is just another case of the deterioration of the community's moral compass. This man is feted and lauded for his musical ability - regardless of this heinous act. He should be shunned from the community - we let this predator loose to prey on someone else's child. I say WE because regardless of what the government does, we as a community could shut the Pied Piper down (BTW, you do recall where the Pied Piper led the children of Hamlin?) Sadly, there doesn't seem to be the will to do so.

Black women don't seem to have any standing in the community - it's as though we are inanimate objects to be put on display for someone's sexual pleasure. If you need anymore confirmation of just how low we've sunk - take a look at Lloyd's new video featuring Lil' Wayne - they've swiped credit cards down our backsides, paraded us across MTV like cattle up for sale and now they've taken our ability to see and replaced our eyes with silver slivers - no need for us to see or show any expression with respect to what we are doing or what's being done to us - we're just here to tittilate.

Posted: Jun 16, 2008 at 6:06 pm
No. 15 · Chic Noir

cosign Kandee

She's Come Undone -cosign and well said.

Loudmouth this is an example of what we need to do along with not buying his music or concert tickets.

Posted: Jun 16, 2008 at 7:26 pm
No. 16 · K8

I'm thinking that 'How R.Kelly Got Off' is maybe not the best headline to use? … just sayin'

Posted: Jun 16, 2008 at 8:07 pm
No. 17 · solitaire

@She's Come Undone

Stop projecting your own angst onto this case. This has nothing to do with black women in the community, or battererd victims too afraid to afraid to confront their own reality. YOU, or anyone else here does not get to decide that this girl is a victim, just because you find the act of being pissed on by R.Kelly vile. She refused to testify, and has repeatedly denied she was even in the video, yet you and others chime in like a greek chorus of no nothings. Perhaps she and her family were paid off, which further deteriorates her victim status imo. If I felt I was truly violated and abused, there is no way I would be taking a backroom cash payout for my silence.

As far as Lloyd's new video goes, what exactly does it even have to do with this topic?? All women are objectified in videos, not just black women. No one forced these women to do the video ho circuit. Nothing is being done to them, that they don't ALLOW. They are complicent in every act of their own supposed humiliation.

Posted: Jun 16, 2008 at 8:09 pm
No. 18 · blackmistressdiva

"If I felt I was truly violated and abused, there is no way I would be taking a backroom cash payout for my silence."

My sentiments exactly. That very notion muddied the waters of how I felt about the entire case for years. Some things can't be bought. I know girls grow up fast and I don't know who is a victim and who isn't anymore, but I do know that grown men should not have sex with 14 and 15 year old girls. How young does he go? Why does he continue to seek these girls out even to his own detriment? He has an illness and can't control his urges. There are others involved who facilitate his sickness and they are just as guilty. Like I said before, I can see him getting taken out Nino Brown style one day.

Posted: Jun 16, 2008 at 8:38 pm
No. 19 · solitaire

The thing is, he can control his urges. Fetishizing young girls is more a symtom of his massive ego, than any illness. Pissing on people is about power and humiliation. I agree that something or someone is gonna catch up with him at some point, but I won't waste my time waiting.

Posted: Jun 16, 2008 at 9:02 pm
No. 20 · khia213

Solitaire,

You don't need the victim to testify in an abuse case. (And the victim never testifies in a murder case.)Domestic violence cases routinely go forward without the "victim's" testimony. Just because the vic won't cooperate, doesn't mean the case can't go forward. The case belongs to the State, not the victim.

In this case, the victim was on tape. All the prosecution needed was someone to identify her. Apparently, the jury didn't buy the identification.

Posted: Jun 17, 2008 at 11:55 am
No. 21 · Chic Noir

Solitaire,I hope you think Micheal Jackson is innocent too since his victim(s) took a large payout.

Posted: Jun 17, 2008 at 5:08 pm
No. 22 · solitaire

@khia213

How hard is it for you to comprehend that the alleged VICTIM DENIED IT WAS EVEN HER IN THE FIRST PLACE?? CASE CLOSED.

@Chic Noir
Since I wasn't there, I have no idea if MJ fucked those little boys or not, and frankly I don't care either way. If their parents truly believed their boys were victimized by a sexual predator, they would have sought a criminal prosecution, and not taken a multi million dollar payout. The safety and well being of your children should not have a price tag.

Posted: Jun 17, 2008 at 8:21 pm
No. 23 · khia213

Solitaire,

She didn't deny it in Court. She never testified. And the State has no obligation to call her. What she did outside didn't count in the case. DV victims deny that the abuse happens all the time. This case is no different.

BTW, my comprehension skills, at least as they relate to my occupation, are just fine, thank you.

Posted: Jun 18, 2008 at 7:37 am
No. 24 · sloane

@ solitaire- YOU need to stop projecting YOUR angst with how the victim dealt with her victimization onto to this case. so because she may have accepted a settlement to refuse to participate in the case it somehow CHANGES the fact that r. kelly sexually exploited her when she was 13 years old and videotaped it? are you forgetting that she was legally a minor and could not consent to ANYTHING that was shown in that tape, let alone being urinated on in a sexual context? legally (and some would say, maybe not you, developmentally) she COULDN'T ALLOW it. she was manipulated and taken advantage of by virtue, of i don't know, being a f**king child. JUST BECAUSE A VICTIM MAY RESPOND TO BEING VICTIMIZED IN A WAY THAT ISN'T PALATABLE TO YOUR SENSIBILITIES, doesn't mitigiate their victimization, so YOU with your UNASSAILABLE convictions that would NEVER allow you to take a cash settlement for a crime committed against you, don't get to decide that she WASN'T a victim. yes, she's an adult now, but who knows how this whole thing effected her, she may have wanted the circus surrounding this case to disappear, who knows, but it doesn't take away from what happened to her. I MEAN REALLY, who DIED and made you JUDGE of how a person should respond to being a victim? and the courts don't necessarily need a victims cooperation to proceed with a case, particularly because situations like this can arise, but a crime has been committed no matter what your personal thougts may be, SO IT SHOULD FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES BE PROSECUTED. okay? so you may characterize me and my opinion as being another voice in the "no nothing" greek chorus, but better to be that then a myopic self-important jackass, like yourself.

Posted: Jun 18, 2008 at 4:22 pm
No. 25 · Chic Noir

Slaone thanks for ^^^ and an extra thanks for:

so because she may have accepted a settlement to refuse to participate in the case it somehow CHANGES the fact that r. kelly sexually exploited her when she was 13 years old and videotaped it?

and

JUST BECAUSE A VICTIM MAY RESPOND TO BEING VICTIMIZED IN A WAY THAT ISN’T PALATABLE TO YOUR SENSIBILITIES, doesn’t mitigiate their victimization, so YOU with your UNASSAILABLE convictions that would NEVER allow you to take a cash settlement for a crime committed against you, don’t get to decide that she WASN’T a victim,

I don't get why solitaire is so lax about this.

solitaire are you a man?

Posted: Jun 18, 2008 at 7:25 pm
No. 26 · supergirl

I support R Kelly 100%. that little trick knew extacly what she was doing. She didn't want to press charges and he got off so leave it alone. this is just another chance to keep a successful black man down. If he was a white celebrity such as Brad Pitt or Bruce Springstein we wouldn't be having this conversation. we black people need to support our people, this is just another thing for the whites to bash us about.

Posted: Jul 5, 2008 at 1:05 am
No. 27 · K

SUPERGIRL YOU'RE AN IDIOT!!! DID YOU FORGET THE GIRL IN THE VIDEO WAS BLACK TOO!!!! I'M SO SICK OF PEOPLE PUTTING ALL THE BLAME ON THIS GIRL. YOU REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE YOUNG AND DUMB SO HOW COULD YOU PUT ALL THE BLAME ON HER??!! HE'S THE GROWN ASS MAN!!!!!! HE'S KEEPIN HIS OWN DUMBASS DOWN!!!! YOU STUPID!!!!!!!

Posted: Jul 10, 2008 at 11:58 pm
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