After more than eight hours of closing arguments over the past two days, jurors in the Chicago federal case against disgraced R&B superstar R. Kelly and two former associates have begun their deliberations.
R. Kelly is seen in a courtroom sketch during his federal trial on Aug. 19, 2022, at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse.
Jennifer Bonjean began her final presentation to the jury by asking them to treat Kelly like a “John Doe,” as some of his accusers have been, not what they may have heard about him in the news or at the office. “It’s meant for you to lose your humanity for this man and prevent you from really scrutinizing this evidence,” Bonjean said. “They want you to throw up your hands and say ‘Ahh, it’s R. Kelly. I want to go home and have dinner with my kids. Let’s just sign this guilty verdict.”
Appenteng accused McDavid of repeatedly lying under oath when he testified in his own defense last week that he believed Kelly’s denials about sexually abusing minors. “That jury was scammed,” she said. “They were scammed by Robert Kelly and his fixers. The case was fixed because Robert Kelly, Derrel McDavid and others caused Jane to lie to the grand jury and be absent from trial.”
“He had to rely on other people to handle the business of R. Kelly,” Bonjean said. “And it was quite a business.”As Bonjean spoke, Kelly clasped his hands and looked down at the defense table. At times, his mask was pulled under his chin, revealing a somber expression. “It is an inconvenient reality for the government,” Bonjean said. “Lives are complex, and for all the fist pounding and the outrage, that family made a decision that they had to live with at that time.”
Bonjean noted that one of the alleged victims, Brittany never even testified, even though prosecutors told jurors in opening statements they’d hear from her. “Even though we are in the era of believing women... there is not place for those types of sort of mob-like thinking in a courtroom,” Bonjean said.