After 6 Years, Star's Trial Date Nears

R. Kelly's R& B Career Has Soared Despite His Indictment Over Explicit Videotape

CHICAGO. April 19 -- It has been six years since silky-voiced singer R. Kelly was indicted on child pornography charges, accused of videotaping himself in sex acts with a 14-year-old girl. He has since sold millions of albums, earned tens of millions of dollars, toured the nation -- and never faced a jury.

Attorneys dueled one another over expert witnesses. They battled about the videotape. They won postponements because of other trials and obligations. A prosecutor gave birth, Kelly had an appendectomy and the judge fell off an 18-foot ladder while trying to fix a skylight.

Through it all, presumed innocent, Kelly produced music that rocketed to the top of the Billboard charts.

But now, barring accident or surprise, the 41-year-old R&B superstar will go on trial next month in Chicago in a case that could shape his offstage reputation for years to come. Jury selection is scheduled to begin May 9 on the South Side, where the enigmatic hometown showman who likes to keep it real is expected to endure some of the most real moments of his life.

"R. Kelly is looking forward to his day in court and he is confident that when all the evidence comes out, he will be shown not to have committed any crime," said Kelly spokesman Allan Mayer, who will fly in from New York to help manage the expected media hubbub.

Cook County Circuit Court Judge Vincent M. Gaughan imposed a gag order, limiting the details that have filtered from a series of closed-door sessions in recent months. In earlier hearings, Kelly's attorneys began by denying that he was the man in the video, while the alleged victim denied that the girl was her.

The attorneys, led by prominent Chicago lawyer Edward Genson, who has represented fallen media baron Conrad Black and former representative Mel Reynolds (D-Ill.), also said the female in the video was 18, and therefore had reached the age of consent.

To counter those assertions, prosecutors have labored to assemble witnesses, including relatives of the girl, who is now a woman in her early 20s. The government has also assembled experts to authenticate and date the recording, based in part on the setting, as well as radio advertisements and songs by the Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys heard in the background.

Gaughan ruled over defense objections that the 26-minute videotape, which is available on the Internet, will be played in court. It shows a man engaged in variety of sex acts with a girl. He is also seen giving her money.

The tape, first leaked to the Chicago Sun-Times in 2002, led to a 21-count grand jury indictment against Kelly, later reduced to 14 counts. Cook County's chief prosecutor, Richard A. Devine, said at the time that the charges should "send a message to sexual predators that taking advantage of minors will not be tolerated."

Kelly was sued before the indictment by at least two women who said they had sex with him before they turned 18, according to news reports. He was also married briefly in 1994 to singer Aaliyah D. Haughton, who was then 15. He recently split with his wife, a former dancer with his act. They have three children.

As time went on, Kelly the musician was undeterred. He produced album after album, one a year since the indictment, and his popularity soared. Six studio albums in his career have reached the top of the Billboard 200 and all 10 have reached at least No. 2. A new album is nearing release.