R. Kelly attorney urges jury to see his "humanity" in trial closing as juror has panic attack

Chicago, Illinois - R Kelly's attorney urged the jury in her closing argument on Tuesday to put aside any preconceived notions they may have about the R&B superstar and see "the humanity" in him when deliberating charges of child pornography and obstruction of justice.

R. Kelly's lawyer Jennifer Bonjean (l.) defended him fiercely and compared witnesses to cockroaches during lengthy closing arguments, capping off a five week-long federal trial in Chicago.
R. Kelly's lawyer Jennifer Bonjean (l.) defended him fiercely and compared witnesses to cockroaches during lengthy closing arguments, capping off a five week-long federal trial in Chicago.  © Collage: ANGELA WEISS &ANTONIO PEREZ / POOL / AFP

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, and not judge him by what they may have heard about him in the news or at the office.

"We are asking really the impossible of you, right? To put that all aside and decide this case based only on what was put into evidence," Bonjean said.

Bonjean was given about two hours to make her case to the jury. Jurors started deliberating early Tuesday afternoon, but did not reach a verdict. They will pick up on Wednesday morning, according to the AP.

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Toward the end of Monday’s closing arguments, one juror informed authorities she was having a panic attack and she could not continue. Judge Harry Leinenweber dismissed her and replaced her with an alternate.

The 55-year-old star was present in court and is being federally charged in Chicago with 13 counts of producing and receiving child pornography, enticing five minors to engage in criminal sexual activity, and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Also charged are former Kelly associates Derrel McDavid, Kelly’s former business manager, and ex-employee Milton "June" Brown, who are accused in an alleged scheme to buy back incriminating sex tapes that had been taken from Kelly’s collection and to hide years of alleged sexual abuse of underage girls.

Bonjean told the jury that much of the "unflattering evidence" that has been presented about Kelly during the four-week trial has absolutely nothing to do with the charges, including accusations in lawsuits brought by an attorney with an "industry of suing R Kelly," and mention of sex tapes involving backup dancers, a baseball player’s wife, "and even a man."

Bonjean said prosecutors are "banking" on the jury relying on "labels like sex predator" instead of the actual evidence in the case, which was built on the testimony of liars and criminals and accusations that "are a quarter-century old."

Jennifer Bonjean was hired by R. Kelly after successfully representing Bill Cosby

Attorney Jennifer Bonjean also represented R. Kelly at his trial at Brooklyn Federal Court earlier this year, where he was convicted of leading a decades-long effort to recruit and trap teenagers and women for sex.
Attorney Jennifer Bonjean also represented R. Kelly at his trial at Brooklyn Federal Court earlier this year, where he was convicted of leading a decades-long effort to recruit and trap teenagers and women for sex.  © TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP

The singer cut ties with his original Chicago legal team in February to hire Bonjean, who successfully appealed Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction.

"It’s meant for you to lose your humanity for this man and prevent you from really scrutinizing this evidence," Bonjean told jurors of preconceived notions about her client. "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.'"

Bonjean likened some of the witnesses in the case, many of whom received immunity from prosecution in exchange for their testimony, to finding a cockroach in your soup.

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"You don’t just toss the roach and eat the soup," Bonjean said. "You throw out the whole soup. ... There are just too many cockroaches with these witnesses."

Bonjean also said that unlike most trials, prosecutors are “getting some help from the co-defendants" in this case. Lawyers for both McDavid and Brow both argued on Monday that their clients were unaware that Kelly was sexually abusing his underage goddaughter, "Jane," or other minors back in the 1990s and 2000s.

"In various ways throughout this trial there has been this undercurrent of, 'Well, R Kelly may have abused Jane or may have abused young women, but we didn’t know anything about it," Bonjean said. "You cannot consider that."

Instead, Bonjean suggested Kelly was the one who was in the dark. He struggled with his own serious sexual abuse trauma on his way to becoming this superstar, she said, and was "someone who was entirely unequipped to handle all that comes with it."

"He had to rely on other people to handle the business of R Kelly," Bonjean said. "And it was quite a business."

R. Kelly's federal trial has spanned over a month

R. Kelly is facing decades longer in prison for his newest charges of sexual abuse, child pornography, and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
R. Kelly is facing decades longer in prison for his newest charges of sexual abuse, child pornography, and conspiracy to obstruct justice.  © SCOTT OLSON / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

The arguments come as Kelly’s trial has stretched into its fifth week at the Dirksen Courthouse. Jurors have heard from nearly three dozen witnesses since mid-August.

They began with a scathingly methodical presentation from prosecutors and a fire-and-brimstone statement on behalf of Kelly’s former business manager.

Prosecutors in the packed ceremonial courtroom started by reminding jurors of their strongest evidence against the singer: The multiple videos they viewed showing Kelly sexually abusing his 14-year-old goddaughter, "Jane."

"That child, who had no prior sexual experiences in her life, was forced to lay on that floor while that man sitting right over there urinated on her. That degrading act is forever captured on that video," assistant US attorney Elizabeth Pozolo said. "That abuse is forever memorialized ...

"Kelly and his team, they did their level best ... to cover up the fact that Robert Kelly, R Kelly the R&B superstar, is actually a sexual predator. They did their best, but in the end, they failed."

"We are here today because those tapes that they concealed for 20 years are no longer their secret. You have seen the tapes. You have seen what Kelly did to Jane," she added.

Meanwhile, the attorney for McDavid, told jurors in his closing argument that the prosecution was riddled with reasonable doubt and based on untrustworthy witnesses, and that McDavid had no way of knowing whether Kelly was really sexually abusing minors.

"The man didn’t know," lawyer Beau Brindley said. "They’ve got nothing! ... Their case can’t be trusted."

R. Kelly was also found guilty last year in a New York trial of sex trafficking and racketeering and was sentenced to 30 years in prison and a $100,000 fine. He has been serving time behind bars and was placed on suicide watch this summer.

Kelly is again facing decades in prison with his current trial.

Cover photo: Collage: ANGELA WEISS &ANTONIO PEREZ / POOL / AFP

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