In 2008 R. Kelly walked out of a Chicago courtroom a free man, acquitted of child pornography charges that had plagued him for six years (despite rumors of his sexual abuse of minors preceding those charges by decades).
Nearly 11 years later and facing a slew of new sexual abuse charges (click here to read more those), the very man who defended the singer in that case – high powered criminal defense attorney Ed Genson – has revealed at 77-years-old he is suffering from a late stage of bile duct cancer. Before succumbing to the terminal illness, the lawyer has opted to reveal a long-kept secret about his Grammy-winning client: he was guilty.
Details inside:
Taking to his local Chicago Sun-Times, the ailing lawyer dished on his time with Kelly:
“I can say whatever I want, but we’ve got to do it fast,” he said. “It would be nice to get it down so somebody knows besides me. He was guilty as hell!”
Despite proclaiming his guilt, Genson feels oddly confident the singer is not guilty of the new charges.
“I don’t think he’s done anything inappropriate for years. I’ll tell you a secret: I had him go to a doctor to get shots, libido-killing shots. That’s why he didn’t get arrested for anything else.”
When quizzed on if Kelly’s recent explosive CBS interview could negatively impact a jury’s decision, the lawyer stated:
“I’m trying to figure out why he did it. I don’t know whether his lawyer [Stephen Greenberg] is an idiot. He might be.”
Lastly, when asked if he thought keeping Kelly out of jail in 2008 has aided in his allegedly destructive behavior since that acquittal, Genson replied:
“I didn’t facilitate him. He had already done what he’d done,” Genson said. “I did facilitate him in the sense I kept him out of trouble for 10 years. I was vetting his records. I listened to them, which ones would make a judge mad.”
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One record Genson claims he pinpointed was Kelly’s ‘Ignition,’ which the 77-year-old says he suggested the singer rewrite to change lyrics that a judge might view as suggestive (in relation to the child pornography case).
“What he doesn’t understand is this: If you win a case with somebody, they think they’re bulletproof,” Genson said. “You’re almost better off, sort of, losing. He thinks he can do whatever the hell he wants. He has done everything he can to hurt himself.”
[photo credit: Getty]