Chicago Tribune

‘Exhausted’ key witness breaks down at R. Kelly‘s federal trial in second day of contentious questioning

Lisa Van Allen arrives at the Cook County Criminal Court Building to testify in the R. Kelly child pornography trial in 2008..

CHICAGO — The continued cross-examination of a key witness against R. Kelly got off to an extraordinarily contentious and emotional start Friday. Within 15 minutes, the exchange had grown so argumentative and circular that the judge intervened, and within about 20 minutes the witness had broken down in tears.

Lisa Van Allen, 42, acknowledged at the start she was “exhausted” and did not want to come to court Friday. She had been on the stand for about five hours Thursday and testified that back in the late 1990s, she had sexual contact with Kelly and his underage goddaughter “Jane” at the behest of the singer, who also filmed and directed their encounters. After she

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