Celebrity Gossip, News and Entertainment

A home video that appears to show R&B star R Kelly performing sex acts on a 14-year-old girl, who is now 21 and denies she’s the underaged teen seen in the tape, will be made public during his child pornography trial in Chicago, local media reported on Friday.
“It’s hard to understand what the public benefit is of seeing this tape,” said Jane Doe Inc. spokeswoman Toni Troop. “The way that cases are handled have a chilling effect on other victims when deciding whether to come forward about a sexually violent crime, for fear that they will be the ones that are put on trial,” Troop said yesterday.

Earlier this month, the singer — real name Robert Sylvester Kelly — and prosecutors requested Judge Vincent Gaughan bar the public and media from watching the video because it would embarrass the girl — who is now 21. But the judge ruled there was no “overarching interest” in banning the tape from public view.
“This is the crux or linchpin of the case against Mr. Kelly,” Gaughan said. “Without it, the case wouldn’t exist.” Adding that he did not want a “star chamber,” the judge said, “The press is very important and can’t be excluded.”

Judges usually go out of their way to protect the rights of children, pointed out Emerson College professor Jeff Seglin, who writes the New York Times Syndicate’s ethics column, “The Right Thing.” Seglin said he doesn’t know what is gained by allowing the public and press access to it.
Worried about the welfare of the girl, who’s now 21, and the embarrassment the video’s unveiling is likely to cause her, prosecutors were willing to bend when it came to restricting the public’s need to know, but not with the media.

No word yet on a trial date. Kelly has pleaded innocent to the charges and another status hearing is scheduled for next Thursday.