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MORE POSITIVE ID'S IN R. KELLY TRIAL: Another witness testifies to being former friend of alleged victim.
*Prosecutors in R. Kelly's child pornography trial continued Thursday to provide witnesses that can positively identify the alleged victim at the center of the case.
The R&B singer, 41, is accused of videotaping himself having sex with a girl as young as 13. His attorneys claim that Kelly is not on the tape and the alleged victim, who is now 23, also denies that she is in the video.
Aubrey Hampton, 23, a former friend and classmate of the alleged victim, testified that she saw the sex tape at a friend's house after hearing about it through the grapevine at Oak Park-River Forest High School, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. She said at the time, her junior year, she recognized the girl as her friend.
She told the jury "there's no question" that the female on the tape is her childhood friend at age 13 or 14.
Hampton, a senior studying business marketing at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, said that her mother later found the tape in her daughter's bedroom and threw it away. But when Hampton saw the video again Thursday morning in the state's attorney's office, she said she was once again convinced it was her friend.
On cross-examination, Hampton told the court that her friend never once mentioned that she was having sex with Kelly, nor did she suspect that any such activity was taking place between them.
Hampton's mother, Mary Kay Jerit, an adoption worker with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, was asked on cross-examination why she didn't turn the tape over to authorities instead of throwing it away if she suspected it to be child porn. Jerit said that she inquired if the tape was under investigation but did not report it because she was not mandated to do so.
On Wednesday, an aunt and an uncle of the alleged victim also identified the female on the tape as their niece. As previously reported, Simha Jamison, 24, identified the alleged victim as her friend of 10 years. Jamison's father, Peter Thomas, testified that the alleged victim's involvement in the video was the talk of their neighborhood.
As of press time Thursday afternoon, more identification witnesses were expected to be called.
The R&B singer, 41, is accused of videotaping himself having sex with a girl as young as 13. His attorneys claim that Kelly is not on the tape and the alleged victim, who is now 23, also denies that she is in the video.
Aubrey Hampton, 23, a former friend and classmate of the alleged victim, testified that she saw the sex tape at a friend's house after hearing about it through the grapevine at Oak Park-River Forest High School, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. She said at the time, her junior year, she recognized the girl as her friend.
She told the jury "there's no question" that the female on the tape is her childhood friend at age 13 or 14.
Hampton, a senior studying business marketing at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, said that her mother later found the tape in her daughter's bedroom and threw it away. But when Hampton saw the video again Thursday morning in the state's attorney's office, she said she was once again convinced it was her friend.
On cross-examination, Hampton told the court that her friend never once mentioned that she was having sex with Kelly, nor did she suspect that any such activity was taking place between them.
Hampton's mother, Mary Kay Jerit, an adoption worker with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, was asked on cross-examination why she didn't turn the tape over to authorities instead of throwing it away if she suspected it to be child porn. Jerit said that she inquired if the tape was under investigation but did not report it because she was not mandated to do so.
On Wednesday, an aunt and an uncle of the alleged victim also identified the female on the tape as their niece. As previously reported, Simha Jamison, 24, identified the alleged victim as her friend of 10 years. Jamison's father, Peter Thomas, testified that the alleged victim's involvement in the video was the talk of their neighborhood.
As of press time Thursday afternoon, more identification witnesses were expected to be called.
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