A former employee of R. Kelly testified recently that she was “110 per cent sure” the Grammy-winning R&B singer appeared with an underage girl on a sex tape at the centre of his child pornography trial.
Lindsey Perryman, who said she worked as a record producer and personal assistant to the singer and his family off and on from 2000-2007, told jurors that she first saw the tape in December 2007, after being approached by prosecutors.
At that time, she said, she was not sure it was Kelly on the video and didn’t want to believe it because he was a great boss and “very, very good to me.”
“I was in shock and I wanted to be 110 per cent sure,” so looked at an album cover with Kelly on it before viewing the videotape a second time, Perryman said. She said she then was sure it was Kelly; she also identified the alleged victim, who had visited Kelly’s studio.
Kelly, 41, is charged with 14 counts of child pornography for allegedly videotaping himself having sex with an underage girl. He has pleaded not guilty and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Kelly’s lawyers have said he is not on the tape, even noting that the singer has a mole on his back and the man on the tape does not. The alleged victim, now 23, has denied she is on the tape.
Two other witnesses have testified that the female participant on the graphic 27-minute videotape was the same person prosecutors say was as young as 13 at the time.
