Judge bars expert from testifying in R. Kelly trial, hurts prosecution

MEDILL NEWS SERVICE

A key expert witness for the prosecution will not be allowed to testify when R&B star R. Kelly's child pornography trial starts in May.

During a hearing Monday, Cook County Circuit Judge Vincent Gaughan denied the prosecution's motion to reconsider the decision he made in November that will keep Sharon Cooper, a developmental and forensic pediatrician, from testifying. She would have addressed why the alleged victim in the case has denied in sworn testimony that she is pictured in the pornographic video at the center of the scandal.

The hearing at the Criminal Courts Building lasted about five minutes as Gaughan heard arguments from each side before revealing he had not changed his mind on the matter.

Kelly's attorney, Edward Genson, said the state's attorneys failed to cite "a single case [in Illinois] where this [expert witness testimony] would have been allowed."

Gaughan agreed. He said allowing Cooper to testify that the alleged victim was lying was not necessary because a jury is capable of determining credibility of the girl without expert testimony.

The prosecution team, led by Cook County Assistant State's Atty. Shauna Boliker, had hoped to convince Gaughan that the jury would benefit from Cooper's view of behavioral patterns of child pornography victims.

Sheila Ribordy, a psychology professor at DePaul University, agreed that it may be difficult for people to understand why a victim might deny involvement in such a case. But such denials sometimes happen, she said.

"Recanting, or later denial of abuse, while not probably predominant, is not uncommon with children," said Ribordy, also a licensed child clinical psychologist. "Particularly as they get older they think about it possibly in a more embarrassing way. Or [they] start to think that others are going to blame them, it's their fault, they should have said no."

Ribordy said this often happens when abuses occur within the family, but it could result in this case from Kelly's popularity and the desire not to be "the bad guy" to bring him down.

The hearing was just one of more than 100 appearances Kelly has made since being indicted in the case in June 2002. However, it was the first since he appeared Dec. 21 when Gaughan gave Kelly a tongue lashing for missing a hearing on Dec. 19. The judge forced him to postpone a concert scheduled for Jan. 13 in Hampton, Va., to ensure he would make Monday morning's hearing.

Kelly, who turned 41 last week, is allowed to return to his music career until the next hearing March 12. That hearing will be Gaughan's last opportunity to rule on any more motions filed before what he called a "firm trial date" of May 9.