*Music journalist Jim DeRogatis reportedly refuses to testify against R. Kelly in the singer’s Chicago trial.
The disgraced music star is on trial for a number of federal charges, including coercing minors into sex, and receiving and producing child pornography, as reported by Hip Hop DX.
DeRogatis is a former Chicago Sun-Times reporter and author of the book “Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly.” He once received an anonymous video that he handed over to police which helped form the child pornography case against Kelly in 2008. That same video evidence is reportedly part of the current trial.
DeRogatis has been subpoenaed to take the stand in Chicago, but he allegedly refuses to do so. According to a recent court filing, DeRogatis’ legal team noted that his testimony could lead to “harassment or intimidation,” as a window at DeRogatis’ home was shot out after he reported on Kelly.
READ MORE: R. Kelly’s Daughter Says His Reputation Has Negatively Impacted Her Music Career | Video
R. Kelly previously called out the journalist in his song “I Admit,” which was released in 2018.
“To Jim DeRogatis, whatever your name is/ You been tryna destroy me for 25 whole years,” Kelly sings on the track, as reported by Hip Hop DX.
We reported previously that a one-time lead prosecutor had communicated with DeRogatis about Kelly’s sexual misconduct.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Angel Krull is said to have used a burner email account and a fake name to communicate with the author. The emails indicate that DeRogatis sent Krull a copy of his book, and he later followed up in an email asking “if the book was any help,” per a motion filed by an attorney for Kelly’s co-defendant, Derrel McDavid.
DeRogatis also offered details about a conversation he had “with a prominent ‘enabler’ mentioned (in his book)” regarding Kelly’s criminal investigation.
DeRogatis told the Chicago Tribune that “he was the one who was fishing for information from the prosecutor — Assistant U.S. Attorney Angel Krull — and that he got nowhere,” the publication writes.
“Angel never gave me a damn thing,” he said. “No federal prosecutor ever did.”
“The amount of skulduggery I had to deal with from sources, attorneys and other people for 20-plus years, was I surprised I (got) a weird email? No,” DeRogatis said. “So I sent her the book and I said, ‘Here’s the book, I’d love to chat.’ And a couple weeks later I said, ‘Was the book helpful? I’d love to chat.’ And I never heard back. Nothing.”
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