A federal judge ruled Friday that the public may view a videotape showing singer R. Kelly having sex with an underage girl.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Judge Vincent Gaughan said he saw no reason to bar the tape from public viewing.
Kelly, who was arrested in February 2002 when the tape surfaced, has pleaded not guilty to 14 counts of child pornography. At one time, the singer was facing more than 80 counts of soliciting a minor for the purposes of child pornography and related charges.
The tape was made sometime between January 1998 and October 2000, prosecutors said. The victim, whose name is withheld by the court, was 13 when the incident took place. She is 21 now.
The tape purportedly shows Kelly performing various sex acts on the girl, including one in which he urinates upon the girl, who is said the be the daughter of an associate. He has denied any wrongdoing.
In 2003, the 39-year-old singer was indicted on several counts of possessing child pornography in Florida, but those charges were dropped when the court ruled that police had conducted an illegal search.
Kelly’s troubles over women or young girls have dogged the singer for years. He was sued by a stripper who claimed he taped her while they were having sex without her knowledge, while at least two other sex-related lawsuits involving underage girls have been settled by the singer’s attorneys in recent years.
Kelly is known for such hits as “Bump N’ Grind,” “I Believe I Can Fly,” “I’m Your Angel,” and “Trapped in the Closet.”
