Musician R. Kelly is on trial for sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children. The trial began on August 18 and is taking place in New York.
The 54-year-old American musician R. Kelly has been overshadowed by accusations of sexual assault, many of which concerned minors, for most of his life. For decades, the singer has not been convicted, although in 2008 he appeared in court, during which charges were dropped against him.
Now R. Kelly is again on trial in New York on suspicion of 22 crimes, including sexual exploitation of children, production of child pornography, extortion and obstruction of justice. The trial began on August 18, after more than a year delay due to the pandemic, and was held in US federal court in Brooklyn.
Assistant Attorney General Maria Cruz Melendez described the singer as “a man who has used his fame, his popularity and the network of people at his disposal for decades to recruit, train and exploit girls, boys and young women for sexual activities. satisfaction. “The case against R. Kelly is based on the charges of six women, and four of them are expected to testify in court.
The indictment says the singer, who received the three grams, used a group of managers, bodyguards and other staff to recruit victims, who then threatened them if they escaped. The musician denies the accusations dating back to 1994 to 2018. If convicted on all charges, the singer could be sentenced to terms ranging from 10 years to life in prison.
Judgment
The first prosecution witness, identified as Geronda Pace, said the musician began having sex with her in 2009 when he was just 16 years old. The victim, now 28, was one of the first women to publicly indict the singer and testify against R. Kelly during the first two days of the trial.
In her testimony, Pace said that she was forced to obey strict rules whenever she visited the singer’s house, including being forced to call him “daddy.” The young woman also explained that she was obliged to abide by “Rob’s rules” and that she once broke the established rules. “It was then that he hit me and strangled me until I passed out,” he said, remembering only the fall to the floor of R. Kelly’s house in Chicago.
Although she was only 16, Pace said the singer wanted her to dress to look younger: “He wanted me to pull my hair in a ponytail and dress like a girl scout,” she told the jury. Geronda Pace also stated that she initially told the musician that he was 19 years old. However, when he discovered the truth, R. Kelly did not lose interest in the young woman.
The singer’s lawyers tried to portray the victim as a jealous “superfan” inventing lies when Kelly lost interest in her. “I really did stalk you, didn’t I?” – Asked him during interrogation Devereaux Cannik, one of the singer’s lawyers. Pace is currently married and has four children. He also claims to have contracted herpes from Kelly, and the prosecution claims the singer deliberately passed on the disease to him.
At the end of his testimony, Chris McGrath, the singer’s doctor with 25 years of experience, told the jury that he was 100% sure that the singer had herpes and that he prescribed her treatment in 2007, explaining to him that he had to report the contagious illness to their sexual partners.
On the fourth day of the trial, she was summoned to testify in favor of the second prosecutor. The woman, identified as Unidentified Woman # 5, accuses the singer of forcing her to have oral sex when she was 17 years old. The woman says she met R. Kelly in 2015 in a Florida hotel room to meet the singer at a professional audition.
The young woman told the musician that she would not be here to “satisfy” him, but R. Kelly was insistent, saying that if he did what he asked, they could go to the audition. The prosecution reveals that the singer had sex with this woman several times when he was 48 years old and did not tell her that he had herpes.
The relationship will continue between them, and in 2017 a young woman will become pregnant from a musician. R. Kelly will force a woman to have an abortion.
Singer Alia also became one of the victims of the American musician. The two were allegedly married in an illegal ceremony when the singer was 30 and the young girl 15. R. Kelly bribed a government official to falsify Alia’s age and produce a marriage certificate. R. Kelly was the singer’s music producer on her debut album and has previously denied the allegations. The singer died in a plane crash at the age of 22 in 2001.
R. Kelly pleaded not guilty to all charges.
