R. Kelly was back in court Friday — this time to ask the court for access to the alleged sex tapes that led to his 10 counts of sexual abuse charges.
The hearing Friday was the start of the discovery phase where the prosecutor began to hand over evidence to the court. Kelly’s legal team did not receive access to the sex tapes during this first phase of discovery, according to TMZ.
Kelly’s lawyer, Steven Greenberg, said they are most anxious to see the sex tapes that Michael Avenatti allegedly turned over to the prosecutors. Greenberg and Kelly have yet to see the tapes that reportedly show Kelly engaging in sexual acts with a 14-year-old girl. (RELATED: R. Kelly Reportedly Asked To Fly To Dubai For A Concert)
Greenberg claims that without access to the sex tapes, he can’t even begin to put together Kelly’s defense. If they believe that it is Kelly in the tapes, Greenberg says they will do a full forensic analysis on the tapes. If not, they’ll attempt to go straight to trial.
Kelly pleaded “not guilty” to 10 counts of sexual abuse charges in Cook County Court on Feb. 25. He recently filed a motion to request access to his passport so that he could perform outside of the U.S.