EXCLUSIVE
R. Kelly and his legal team are demanding to get their hands and eyes on the alleged sex tapes that prompted the 10 counts of sexual abuse … and they’re hoping to walk out of court Friday with them.
Kelly’s attorney, Steven Greenberg, tells TMZ … prosecutors will begin handing over discovery materials during a court hearing Friday in Chicago. He says there’s no guarantee what they’ll get right off the bat — could be police reports, case material from Kelly’s 2008 trial but, obviously, the items they’re most anxious to see are the 2 tapes Michael Avenatti turned over to Cook County prosecutors.
Greenberg says he hasn’t seen the tapes — which Avenatti claims show Kelly engaged in various sex acts with a 14-year-old girl — so he can’t really begin to mount a defense strategy. Once he does get them, a couple different things could happen.
He’ll immediately order a full forensic analysis of the tapes … if he and Kelly believe the tape does show the singer. If they don’t think it’s Kelly, Greenberg says he’ll speed things up to trial.
For now, it’s a waiting game since Kelly’s team has no idea what prosecutors will hand over.
Kelly might also ask the judge to let him travel to Dubai for work — he had to surrender his passport when he got arrested. Sources close to the singer tell us he could potentially get a gig there, but doesn’t have anything booked yet.
Greenberg says he’s not sure the judge will hear that request Friday, but it’s on their “to do” list because — make no mistake — Kelly’s desperate to make some cash.