(NNPA)- A Chicago jury of 12 (nine men, three women) has acquitted R. Kelly on all 14 counts of videotaping himself having sex with an underage girl.
As the first "not guilty" was read June 13, Kelly dipped his head and kept it bowed during the entire reading of the 14-count verdict.
When the reading was completed, he dabbed his face with a baby blue handkerchief from his pocket as tears streamed down his face.
Kelly, who did not testify during his trial, faced up to 15 years in an Illinois prison.
The case centered on a 27-minute videotape anonymously sent to Chicago Sun-Times pop music critic Jim DeRogatis in 2002. Prosecutors said Kelly videotaped himself having sex with - and urinating upon - his underage goddaughter.
In closing arguments, the state said more than a dozen witnesses identified the alleged victim as being on the tape. Prosecutors also said there's no doubt that Kelly is the man on the tape and that the video was made in his Lake View basement some time between 1998 and 2000.
Prosecutors brought in a video expert, who played the notorious sex video in slow motion, pointing out a dark spot clearly visible on the man's back. If he was convicted, he faced a minimum of four years in prison and a maximum of 15 years.
The trial comes to an end six years after the R&B singer was first charged in 2002.
