(continued)

The Video
Aptly titled in places on the Internet Suck, Fuck, and Piss on Girl and R. Kelly Triple-X, the video at the center of the trial is said to have been filmed when the girl involved was as young as 13. How, you might ask, could authorities possibly deduce that sort of dating information via a God-knows-what-generation copy of a video? By the Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls soundtrack playing on a television in the background, naturally.

According to a ruling by Judge Vincent Gaughan, those who have yet to see the spot will soon be granted the displeasure, on the reasoning that if the alleged victim denies it's her in the video, there's nobody to protect. Still, if prosecutors choose to call the girl to the witness stand, it's unlikely that the video will be admitted as evidence, for fear that it will unduly influence the case. The reporter who broke the story and was sent the footage had this to say: "[T]his is not Tommy Lee and Pam Anderson. It's not fun and games. This girl has the disembodied look of a rape victim and he's urinating in her mouth. It's a sickening spectacle." But then, who's he to judge?

The defense team has maintained, at different times, that the tape is a forgery (it's since been authenticated by the FBI), that it is not R. Kelly in the video (screencap above), and that, even if it were, the girl is not underage. Authorities, for their part, seem certain: "We would not have proceeded if we weren't confident with the identification of the people on the tape," said Cook County State's Attorney Richard Devine in 2002.