The judge in the R. Kelly trial, Vincent Gaughan, has been keeping the transcripts in the case sealed as well as holding private hearings so the public doesn’t have access to the latest developments. The reasoning is to prevent the jury pool from being tainted thereby giving R. Kelly a fair trial.

Despite his efforts, today we are learning of some information that could be a big blow to the defense in the R. Kelly trial. The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that an aide to R. Kelly allegedly paid off a woman to get her to return an incriminating sex videotape featuring the R&B singer born Robert Kelly.

The Atlanta woman is the same woman who is now expected to testify about a three-way sexual encounter she had with Kelly and an underage girl. The underage girl was allegedly 13 or 14 at the time the tape was made. It is not clear how much Kelly's aide allegedly paid the woman. The Atlanta woman received immunity from state and federal prosecution in exchange for her testimony, sources said. Federal immunity was necessary to protect her from charges of transporting child pornography across state lines. These new developments occurred in April hearings.

In the hearings the judge learned 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. Kelly, 41, has pleaded not guilty to child pornography and faces up to 15 years if convicted. Jury selection is set to begin today (May 9)