R. Kelly judge blocks expert's testimony

An expert witness for the prosecution in the trial of R&B superstar R. Kelly will not be allowed to testify that victims of abuse often deny the abuse occurred.

Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan on Monday again denied a motion by the state to include the testimony.

Kelly, 40, faces multiple counts of child pornography stemming from a video of a sexual encounter with a then-teenage girl. The girl has since told a grand jury she is not the one in the video.

The prosecution intended to call Sharon Cooper, a developmental and forensic pediatrician, to testify that the girl's reluctance to testify is typical of someone who has been sexually abused.

The judge ruled Cooper could not testify because she would be weighing in on the credibility of the alleged victim, who consistently has said she was not abused.

Kelly, who was in court Monday, missed a court hearing last month after, his lawyers said, his tour bus was stopped in Utah as it made its way from California to Chicago.

Gaughan ordered Kelly to cancel a concert Sunday to ensure he would appear in court Monday.

Kelly's next court date is scheduled for March 12.