Delores Gibson identified the girl on the tape as a former relative by marriage. Gibson testified Wednesday that she saw the tape in December 2001 after getting a call from another of the girl’s relatives, singer Stephanie “Sparkle” Edwards.
But on cross-examination, defense lawyer Sam Adam Jr. noted that Gibson—a Chicago police officer—did not go to the authorities until February 2002. “You became a co-conspirator in possessing items of child pornography, didn’t you?” Adam said.
“I did take action, but not at that moment,” Gibson said. “The [girl’s] mother didn’t want to cooperate, and neither did the father. As an officer and a member of the family, I had a lot of things to consider.”
His voice rising, Adam asked Gibson why she told family members to go to a lawyer rather than to police. “You know as well as anybody in this courtroom that that tape was phony, and this was about money,” Adam said.
Gibson had testified she contacted the girl's mother and told her "that there was something she needed to see," and that a lawyer had it.
"Basically, she told me she didn't want to talk to me any further. She didn't want to hear any more about any tape," Gibson said.
Adam wanted to know why Gibson urged the mother to go to a lawyer instead of the police: "Because you could sue Mr. Kelly, isn't that right?"
"No," Gibson said.
Adam said the tape was a plot "by Sparkle to get back at Mr. Kelly for being wronged" in their music-business dealings, a charged Gibson denied.
"You knew that Sparkle had an axe to grind and was running around with tapes trying to make money, didn't you?" Adam said.
"I took the action that was needed at the time," Gibson said.
"You also know that you should go to the police for justice and a lawyer for money," Adam said.
"We took the necessary steps and contacted Mr. Everett," a Chicago police detective, Gibson said.
I think Kelly's team is doing a good job of belittling the "money hungry" witnesses.