R Kelly witness extortion claim

A key witness in the R Kelly child pornography trial attempted to extort money from the singer, a court in Chicago has heard.

Private Investigator Jack Palladino said the woman and her fiance used "coded language" to request a pay-off in return for changing her evidence.

The witness, Lisa Van Allen, claims to have taken part in sex sessions with R Kelly and an underage girl.

Her testimony is central to the prosecution case against the star.

Mr Palladino is known for his work on celebrity cases. In particular, undermining the credibility of witnesses.

He is said to have been responsible for "digging dirt" on several women who claimed to have slept with Bill Clinton.

He told the court he was employed by Kelly's defence team in 2002, soon after the emergence of a sex tape said to show the singer with a 14-year-old girl - which the singer denies.

Book deal

Mr Palladino said he met Lisa Van Allen, along with her fiance Yul Brown, in Atlanta, Georgia in March 2008.

"I knew their history. I wanted to give them the opportunity to commit crime," he said.

He told the jury that Ms Van Allen claimed to have a $300,000 (£150,000) book deal.

"I believed it was a coded way of getting money from my client," said Mr Palladino.

"They also said they wanted to do what was best for their family and that I should go and talk to our client."

Intimidation

Prosecution attorney Robert Heilingoetter mocked Mr Palladino's interpretation of events: "They said that? How dare they. That's extortion at its best.

"I'm trying to work out where this alleged extortion is, except between your ears."

Giving evidence earlier in the week, Lisa Van Allen said that Mr Palladino had attempted to intimidate her and her fiance.

Questioned about the claim, the private investigator replied: "I don't think Mr Brown is a man who is easily intimidated."

The court in Chicago also heard from an expert in forensic video analysis.

Defence witness Dr Charles Palm was asked if he was able to identify R Kelly as the man who appears in the sex tape.

He replied that it seemed to be a different person because a mole on the singer's back was missing in the video footage.

His testimony contradicted that of forensic video expert and prosecution witness Grant Fredericks, who took the stand earlier in the trial.

Video editing

He said that R Kelly's mole was visible on the tape.

The jury watched as Dr Palm picked through part of the video, frame by frame, attempting to support his view.

He also demonstrated a number of video editing techniques which he claimed could have been used to fabricate the sex tape on a relatively low budget.

Dr Palm claimed a fake could have been made for a quarter of a million dollars, but admitted it would need the kind of equipment used by Hollywood film studios.

R Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, denies 14 counts of making and owning child pornography.

If convicted, the 41-year-old faces up to 15 years in jail.

(taken from: here)