R. Kelly case could go to jury on Thursday

R. Kelly's defense attorneys surprised courtroom observers at his child pornography trial by resting their case Monday after calling about half the number of witnesses as prosecutors in less than half the time.

Kelly looked relaxed as attorney Ed Genson wrapped up his case without calling any new witnesses for the day. The attorney then sat down behind the long defense table and put his hand on the singer's shoulder.

Kelly's lawyers called 12 witnesses over two days last week, including three relatives of the alleged victim who testified they did not recognize the female who appears in a sex tape at the heart of the case.

The prosecution called 22 witnesses over seven days. They included several childhood friends of the alleged victim and four of her relatives who identified her as the female on the graphic, 27-minute video.

Kelly and the alleged victim, who both deny being on the tape, never testified.

Jurors sat in court for just minutes Monday morning before Judge Vincent Gaughan sent them home, saying they would have to return Tuesday to hear two rebuttal witnesses for the prosecution.

Kelly, 41, has pleaded not guilty to child pornography for allegedly videotaping himself having sex with a female prosecutors say was at young as 13. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

Kelly won a Grammy in 1997 for "I Believe I Can Fly," and is known for such raunchy songs as "Bump N' Grind," "Ignition," and for "Trapped in the Closet," a multipart saga about the sexual secrets of a lively and ever-expanding cast of characters.

One observer in the courtroom gallery Monday was actor Eric Lane, who plays the hotheaded character Twan in the "Trapped in the Closet" series.

Closing arguments will likely take place Thursday, Gaughan said.

A lower-back mole -- already the focus of hours of testimony -- will again be a central issue during Tuesday's rebuttal, prosecutor Shauna Boliker told the judge.

Defense attorneys say neither Kelly nor the alleged victim are on the tape, pointing to what they argue is the absence of a fingernail-sized mole on the man's back in sex tape. Kelly, they noted, has such a mole.

The last witness for the defense, video expert Charles Palm, sought to counter earlier prosecution testimony that a mole was visible on several frames of the sex tape when the male begins taking off his pants. Palm told jurors Thursday that what appeared to be a mole was more likely a glitch on the tape.

Prosecutors will recall their own video expert, Grant Fredericks, to address Palm's claims, Boliker said.

Another potential witness that Kelly's lawyers chose not to call was a man who came forward after the trial began to claim he could discredit prosecution witness Lisa Van Allen. The 27-year-old told jurors she engaged in several three-way sexual encounters with Kelly and the alleged victim.

Defense attorneys have suggested that Van Allen's fiance, Yul Brown, may have received a deal in a criminal case in the Atlanta area where the couple lives in exchange for her testimony against Kelly.

The other witness prosecutors planned to call Tuesday was Robert Wolf, an assistant district attorney in the Atlanta area. The Georgia prosecutor would testify that Brown was not offered any deals, Boliker said.

At one point on Monday, a defense attorney called Yul Brown "Yul Brynner," the Hollywood actor who played lead roles in movies such as "The King and I" and "The Ten Commandments."

"Wrong movie," Judge Vaughan said with a smile at the slip.