R. Kelly-found not guilty

Six years after being charged with making and starring in a child porn video, R&B superstar R. Kelly was found not guilty today by a Cook County jury.

Jurors deliberated for about three hours Thursday and part of today before reaching their verdicts. The jury cleared him on all 14 counts filed against him.

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R. Kelly exits the Cook County Courts building Friday in Chicago.
(John J. Kim/Sun-Times)

Section: R. Kelly on trial

As the first "not guilty" was read, R. Kelly dipped his head and kept it bowed during the entire reading of the 14-count verdict.

When the reading was completed, he took a baby blue handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed the tears streaming down his face. He then bear-hugged defense attorneys Sam Adam Jr. and Ed Genson.

Kelly, who did not testify during his trial, faced up to 15 years in an Illinois prison.

R. Kelly left courthouse to a huge roar from about 75 supporters.

"I love him!" one woman shouted. "I love him! Get that on camera!"

He did not comment to reporters.

The case centered on a 27-minute videotape anonymously sent to Chicago Sun-Times pop music critic Jim DeRogatis in 2002. Prosecutors said Kelly videotaped himself having sex with - and urinating upon - his underage goddaughter.

In closing arguments, the state said more than a dozen witnesses identified the alleged victim as being on the tape. Prosecutors also said there was no doubt that Kelly is the man on the tape and that the video was made in his Lake View basement some time between 1998 and 2000.

Defense attorneys keyed in on the fact that the victim, now an adult, has denied she¹s the one on the tape. They noted that Kelly¹s goddaughter is a "sweet, nice young lady," and certainly wouldn¹t have accepted cash for sex, as the girl in the tape is shown doing.

In the weeks and months before the trial, legal experts around the globe said prosecutors would face an uphill battle convincing jurors of Kelly¹s guilt without a victim willing to take the witness stand.

Kelly¹s attorneys also told jurors that Kelly has a distinctive mole on his back that doesn¹t appear on the videotape. Prosecutors brought in a video expert, who played the notorious sex video in slow motion, pointing out a dark spot clearly visible on the man¹s back.