CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, UNITED STATES (JUNE 13, 2008) NBC -

A jury acquitted R&B star R. Kelly of child pornography charges
on Friday (June 13, 2008), finding he did not make an explicit videotape
showing him having sex with an underage girl who called him
"godfather." 
    The 41-year-old Kelly, whose given name is Robert, could have faced a
sentence of up to 15 years in prison on 14 counts of child pornography. 
    The eight-man, four-woman jury deliberated about six hours over two
days before delivering the not guilty verdict on all counts. 
    "Robert has said all along that he believed in our system and he
believes in God and that, when all the facts came out in court, he would be
cleared of these terrible charges. He did not expect that it would take six
and a half years. This has been a terrible ordeal for him and his family and
at this point.  All he wants to do is move forward and try to put it behind
him. He wants to thank his lawyers who defended him so brilliantly.  He wants
to thank his fans who stuck by him and supported him with such love and most
of all he wants to thank God for giving him the strength to get through
this."," said his spokesman Allan Mayer.
    The 26-minute videotape featured oral sex, masturbation and other
explicit acts and was handed over to police by a Chicago newspaper reporter in
2002.  It had circulated widely on the underground video market. 
    Authorities said the tape was shot at Kelly's former Chicago home
sometime between January 1998 and November 2000 when the girl was 13 or 14.

    The tape was played in court for the jury, and the girl could be heard
whispering "daddy" several times. Family members testified she
considered Kelly her "godfather" who frequently gave her cash gifts.
She sang in a group supported by the popular songwriter, singer and producer.

    The girl, now 23, did not testify at the three-week trial in Cook
County Criminal Court, having previously denied she was the girl on the tape.
Kelly, who has toured and made million-selling albums during the six years
since his initial arrest, denied being the man on the tape.