WITNESS IN R. KELLY TRIAL IDENTIFIES ALLEGED VICTIM: Plus, courtroom sketch artist fired for drawing jurors.
*A childhood friend of the alleged victim in R. Kelly's child pornography case identified her longtime friend as the one in the explicit video at the center of the trial, according to reports.
The R&B singer 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.
After screening the entire video following opening statements Tuesday, prosecutors spent yesterday trying to prove that Kelly and the alleged victim are indeed in the video, reports the Associated Press.
Simha Jamison, 24, testified that she and the alleged victim were best friends for about 10 years until their junior year in high school — and that she is very familiar with the physical features of her friend's face. She said that she and her friend visited Kelly at his recording studio and at a Chicago basketball court dozens of times starting when they were around the age of 12.
Her friend first introduced her to Kelly as "her godfather," Jamison said, adding that the singer frequently gave her friend cash gifts — "no less than $100 and no more than $500." She said the two also visited the home where authorities say the sex tape was filmed. Jamison said she saw the tape in 2002 and again just before testifying.
Under intense cross examination by defense attorney Sam Adam Jr., Jamison was grilled about her memory, her previous testimony and her ability to discern doctored video footage.
According to reports, Jamison stood her ground against Adam Jr.'s aggressive questioning. Jamison conceded that in the hundreds of times she had seen Kelly and the alleged victim together, she never saw any sexual contact between them. And though she conceded her former best friend of 10 years never told her about a relationship with the R&B star, that didn't mean nothing ever happened between them.
"There were things I wouldn't tell her as I'm sure there were things that she wouldn't tell me," she told the court.
The R&B singer 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.
After screening the entire video following opening statements Tuesday, prosecutors spent yesterday trying to prove that Kelly and the alleged victim are indeed in the video, reports the Associated Press.
Simha Jamison, 24, testified that she and the alleged victim were best friends for about 10 years until their junior year in high school — and that she is very familiar with the physical features of her friend's face. She said that she and her friend visited Kelly at his recording studio and at a Chicago basketball court dozens of times starting when they were around the age of 12.
Her friend first introduced her to Kelly as "her godfather," Jamison said, adding that the singer frequently gave her friend cash gifts — "no less than $100 and no more than $500." She said the two also visited the home where authorities say the sex tape was filmed. Jamison said she saw the tape in 2002 and again just before testifying.
Under intense cross examination by defense attorney Sam Adam Jr., Jamison was grilled about her memory, her previous testimony and her ability to discern doctored video footage.
According to reports, Jamison stood her ground against Adam Jr.'s aggressive questioning. Jamison conceded that in the hundreds of times she had seen Kelly and the alleged victim together, she never saw any sexual contact between them. And though she conceded her former best friend of 10 years never told her about a relationship with the R&B star, that didn't mean nothing ever happened between them.
"There were things I wouldn't tell her as I'm sure there were things that she wouldn't tell me," she told the court.
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