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	R. Kelly's Next Trap: He's Going on Trial Chicago Sun-Times August 22, 2007 http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/519815,CST-EDT-edits22b.article You'd never know from his great commercial success and widespread acclaim that R. Kelly, the Chicago R&B singer, is under indictment for child pornography. Hours after his new DVD "Trapped in the Closet: Chapters 13-22" was released Tuesday, the disc was climbing the Amazon.com chart. A collection of music videos amounting to a mock soap opera, "Trapped" was hailed in New York as "the cultural event of the year." Now that it appears Kelly is actually going on trial -- five years after being charged with 21 counts of child pornography -- his career isn't looking quite so secure. He may have escaped previous lawsuits involving underage girls through confidential settlements, but his money won't buy his way out of this court. On Tuesday, Kelly already suffered a major setback when a judge ruled that jurors can view the videotape that allegedly shows Kelly having sex with a 14-year-old girl -- including a portion that captures the girl being urinated on. Talk about being trapped. Kelly has mocked the case against him in his farcical performances. We'll see how many fans laugh with him after viewing the raw footage. After stomaching it, or not, his fans may not be so eager to see his depictions of raunchy, rough sex in concert. Kelly's star has ascended partly because, in this era of precocious pre-teen starlets and celebrity sex tapes, many people don't think sex with underage girls or videotaped sex is that big of a deal. Kelly's trial, set for Sept. 17, should demonstrate otherwise. That it has taken this long to get it under way is appalling. But no less appalling than the free ride given to Robert Sylvester Kelly, defendant.
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