R. Kelly has already been sentenced to 30 years in prison for federal sex trafficking charges, but now must face a jury in Chicago on federal sex crime charges for child pornography and obstruction of justice. Kelly’s lawyers are asking now that any juror who has seen Lifetime’s “Surviving R. Kelly” documentary to be banned from the case.
In legal documents obtained by TMZ, Kelly’s defense team state that “Any potential juror who has watched any portion of this docuseries must be disqualified for cause on whether they can be fair, too great a risk exists that such a juror would base their verdict on matters not introduced into evidence in the courtroom.”
They added that any member of the jury who has seen the doc will not be able to remain impartial. “Any potential juror who has seen any portion of Surviving R. Kelly is prejudiced where there’s no scenario which an individual exposed to the contents of Surviving R. Kelly can be impartial.”
The doc, which was released in 2019 set the foundation for his arrest and imprisonment. In June, the disgraced R&B singer was sentenced to 30 years on federal sex trafficking charges in New York. Judge Ann Donnelly said after hading Kelly the 30 year sentence.
“He committed these crimes using his fame and stardom as both a shield, which prevented close scrutiny or condemnation of his actions. And a sword, which gave him access to wealth and a network of enablers to facilitate his crimes, and an adoring fan base from which to cull his victims.”
