As prosecutors and defense attorneys prepare to assemble the jurors in R. Kelly’s federal trial in Brooklyn, the singer has filed a motion to have some of the charges dropped in the case.
One in particular deals with the charges associated with Robert Sylvester Kelly allegedly transmitting herpes deliberately. His attorneys have filed documents in the Eastern District Court of New York to throw out the charges that he knowingly infected others with a sexually transmitted disease.
The rationale is derived from both the New York State Dept. of Health and the World Health Organization. Those organizations do not classify herpes in the same category as syphilis or gonorrhea. According to the filing, the health department and WHO define herpes as a “virus and not a bacterial venereal disease,” according to the documents obtained by TMZ.
With that in mind, the Kelly camp is hoping the presiding judge will drop any herpes-related charges because they argue that herpes is not an STD.
The trial testimonies are set to kick off on Aug. 18, the publication states. Because of the alleged past, where people in R. Kelly’s inner circle were arrested and indicted for influencing witnesses, Judge Ann M. Donnelly is ordering the partial sequestration of the jury. Media cameras have been barred from the courtroom during the trial and the jurors shall remain nameless.
