Poor R. Kelly. All the R & B singer did was maybe videotape himself having sex with a peeing on the face of a girl as young as 13 and now he faces 15 years in prison. Well, Mr. Kelly met his prospective jury this week and it did not go well. "Some of the potential jurors looked uncomfortable, and at least a few placed their hands over their eyes as the judge read some of the more graphic sections of the indictments, said Verna Sadock, a sketch artist who was in the room."

"Before jury selection began Friday, [Circuit Judge Vincent] Gaughan denied a defense motion to again postpone the trial because of intense publicity surrounding the case, appearing to accept arguments from the prosecution that jury selection could weed out any tainted jurors.

"But defense attorney Marc Martin said the jury pool had been 'irrevocably poisoned' by a front-page story in Friday's Chicago Sun-Times that cited unnamed sources talking about a potential witness.

"Many of the potential jurors would have read the article on the way to the courthouse, Martin said. 'There is no escaping the fact that the Sun-Times will be in every news box in Cook County,' said Martin, adding that the contents of the story were also broadcast on TV and radio stations. 'I heard it when I was putting on my tie this morning.'

"'Somebody out there is trying to sabotage Mr. Kelly's right to a fair trial,' Martin said. As he arrived at the courthouse Friday morning, Kelly didn't acknowledge the crowd outside as he walked through a special entrance. One raucous onlooker shouted 'I love you'; another shouted 'R. Kelly's a pedophile.'" [AP]