In early February of 2002,
Chicago Sun Times music
journalist Jim DeRogatis received the infamous videotape of R. Kelly
having sexual intercourse with an underage woman and on June 18th, 2008,
he was acquitted of all charges. Over five years since R. Kelly’s
acquittal, DeRogatis had an extensive interview with
The Village Voice and revealed a vast array of unreported information regarding R. Kelly’s sexual assault case.
According to DeRogatis, there were “numerous videotapes” of what
appeared to be R. Kelly having sexual intercourse with dozens of
underaged girls. DeRogatis even maintains that the first video he
received was not the infamous “29-minute, 36-second videotape” but one
of another unidentified young woman:
There was one tape, but the police could not determine
the girls age. The forensic experts they had looking at it said judging
by the soles of her feet, they could tell she was thirteen or fourteen
at the time this tape was made, but we can’t identify who the woman is.
Prior to Kelly being initially sued in the late 90′s, Kelly and
Aaliyah were accused of having an illegal marriage when the singer was
only 15 after Vibe Magazine released an alleged marriage certificate
between the two. DeRogatis reveals that Aaliyah’s mother Diane Haughton
tearfully informed him that her daughter’s relationship with R. Kelly
had an adverse affect on the precocious singer:
I had Aaliyah’s mother cry on my shoulder and say her
daughter’s life was ruined, Aaliyah’s life was never the same after
that. That’s not an experience you’ve had. I’m not expecting you to feel
the same way I do.
