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Chicago: R&B singer R. Kelly was acquitted in a child pornography trial because the jury wasn't convinced the female on the graphic video was the 13-year-old girl who prosecutors said she was.
Much was made of whether R. Kelly was the man in the sex tape, while one juror went so far as to say he was convinced the man on the tape was Kelly.
"You want to be 100 per cent sure it's Kelly and (the alleged victim)," he said. "What we had wasn't enough."
Panelists said they remained split - seven for acquittal and five for conviction during an early vote - on Friday morning, just a few hours before the verdict. One thing they all agreed on from the start: After viewings of the tape during opening and closing statements, no one needed to see it again.
"I've seen that videotape way too many times," a woman from the panel said, grimacing. "The first time was one too many."
None of the five jurors who spoke after the verdict wanted to be identified.
For Kelly, six years of pre-trial delays came down to an agonising 10 minutes: As a court official began to slowly read the verdict for each of the 14 counts, Kelly clutched the hands of his flanking lawyers. He kept his head down and eyes shut tight, barely moving.
As the official got to the last few counts, tears began streaming down Kelly's face.
When it was over, a visibly stunned Kelly dabbed tears from his face with a handkerchief. He stood up and hugged all four defence lawyers.
The singer, who had faced up to 15 years in prison had he been convicted, left the courthouse surrounded by bodyguards. He smiled and waved to dozens of cheering fans before climbing into a waiting SUV.
Kelly, who won the Grammy Award in 1997 for the song "I Believe I Can Fly" and whose biggest hits are raunchy ballads like "Ignition," didn't speak to reporters.
His publicist, Allen Mayer, released a statement saying Kelly always knew that "when all the facts came out in court, he would be cleared of these terrible charges. ... all he wants to do is move forward and put it behind him."
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