R. Kelly: An aide to R. Kelly allegedly paid off a woman to get her to return an incriminating sex videotape featuring the R.B singer, a judge was told in closed-door hearings last month.

The Atlanta woman, who is expected to testify she had a three-way sexual encounter with Kelly and an underage girl, was described by a source as having been in love with the singer. It is not clear how much Kelly's aide allegedly paid the woman.

Kelly, 41, faces criminal charges that he made a separate videotape of himself having sex with a girl estimated to be 13 or 14. He has pleaded not guilty to child pornography and faces up to 15 years if convicted. Jury selection is set to begin today.

In the run-up to Kelly's long-awaited trial, Judge Vincent Gaughan held four hearings in April that were closed to the public.

Sources familiar with the matter tell the Sun-Times the secret hearings dealt with the potential trial testimony of the Atlanta woman, who allegedly had a threesome with Kelly and the girl who appears in the video for which he faces charges. The Atlanta woman can identify the girl and testify she was underage at the time, sources said.

The Atlanta woman received immunity from state and federal prosecution in exchange for her testimony, sources said. Federal immun- ity was necessary to protect her from charges of transporting child pornography across state lines.

During the April hearings, Gaughan was told that the Kelly aide offered the Atlanta woman money for a sex tape featuring Kelly. At one point, the aide arranged for her to take a polygraph test to determine whether she was telling the truth about having the tape, sources said.

Eventually, the woman received money and arranged for the tape to be sent to Kelly's aide, who is not an attorney, sources said.

It is not clear whether Kelly knew about the alleged deal.

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