The “I Believe I can Fly” singer was arrested in 2019 and continues to face a slew of sex charges while steadfastly pleading not guilty.
Accordingly, R. Kelly is a famous Hiphop, R&B artist of the American music industry and a Grammy award winner. Many accusations of sexual abuse have been named R. Kelly since the 1990s, when he recorded hits such as “I Believe I Can Fly” and “Bump n’ Grind”.
Sexual abuse of women and girls
It’s been more than a decade since Kelly was acquitted in a 2008 child molestation case in Chicago. Since then, Kelly’s music career has continued to thrive, even as the #MeToo era has spawned an opportunity for victims to come forward.
The stories of the female victims received widespread attention in the Lifetime documentary Surviving R. Kelly, which premiered in January 2019. The film featured the claims of a group of advocates who defended Kelly and silenced the victims for decades. At least two women featured in the documentary are expected to testify at the trial.
Months after the documentary’s release, in July of that year, the R&B singer was arrested on charges of fraud and violating the Mann Act, which prohibits the transportation of women or girls for the purposes of prostitution or depravity. Kelly later pleaded not guilty to all charges.
R Kelly, at Leighton Criminal Court in Chicago in September 2019. Photo: APIn her opening statement, Maria Cruz Melendez, one of three members of the prosecution team, told the jury that Kelly used “lies, manipulation, threats and physical abuse” to control his victims and often filmed the sexual encounters. The indictment describes Kelly’s dealings with six women and girls, four of whom were underage at the time, including the late singer Aaliyah, who Kelly married when she was 15.
Kelly is accused of multiple crimes and of leading a “criminal enterprise” that included close associates, including managers, bodyguards, personal assistants and others who helped him recruit women and girls for alleged sex. The charges include bribery, sexual exploitation, production of child abuse imagery, coercion and unlawful enticement.
According to Melendez, Kelly had a “closed network” of close associates who helped him maintain a good public reputation and cater to his every desire and request, including recruiting and grooming women and girls for sex.
Taking advantage of fame to commit crimes
At trial, prosecutor Melendez told jurors how Kelly rose to fame in the 1990s. During those years, Kelly not only became an early concert headliner, but also worked with other prominent artists in the music industry. This success “gave him access to girls, boys, and young women,” while Kelly “quickly learned that he could exploit that.”
Kelly allegedly used all manner of tricks to lure women and girls, including young teenagers, by giving them backstage passes and his phone number. Kelly invited them to his home or studio, including some aspiring musicians who sought his advice. Kelly also often paid and helped arrange travel for the girls to meet him, Melendez said. Kelly sought to “exert power over them” and “dominate and control them physically, sexually and psychologically.”
Kelly would abuse women for breaking “rules,” which often included asking him for permission to use the bathroom, eat or make phone calls, or insisting that he call her “daddy,” wear loose clothing to hide her body and not meet other men. “Above all, he demanded absolute obedience,” Melendez said.
It was reported that there would be “cruel and degrading punishments” for breaking the rules, including beatings and violence. Kelly kept the women and girls in compliance and silence out of fear, blackmailing them with embarrassing information or images and videos he had taken, the court heard.
In her opening statement, defense attorney Nicole Blank Becker called the prosecutor’s claims “exaggerated” and the allegations “over the top.” Becker said the relationships in question were “consensual relationships between adults,” while the prosecution was trying to portray Kelly as a “monster.” Kelly had “long-term” relationships with several women.
Becker said the women “knew exactly what they were doing”. The court heard the women used Kelly’s wealth to help the family pay bills or spend on shopping.
Voices from the inside
Jerhonda Pace, 28, one of the six accusers, answered questions from prosecutors about her relationship with Kelly when she was 16.
Pace described herself as a fan of Kelly as a teenager and attended the singer’s child sexual abuse trial in Chicago in 2008. Pace provided her contact information to Kelly’s team and was invited to a party at Kelly’s house in May 2009, where the two exchanged phone numbers.
She recounted how Kelly had invited her to his home early on and that they had had sex several times over the course of about half a year. Pace initially told Kelly she was 19, but then told her she was 16. Kelly responded, “What does that mean?” and then asked Pace to continue lying about being 19.
Pace said she was repeatedly abused by Kelly for breaking the “rules.” On one occasion, Pace broke one of the “rules” when she was texting and didn’t notice Kelly enter the room. Kelly didn’t believe Pace when she explained she was texting on her phone. “That’s when he slapped me and choked me until I passed out. When I woke up, I was on the floor,” Pace said.
The trial in Brooklyn court in the Eastern District of New York is expected to last a month and involve numerous witnesses, with dozens of female defendants and two male defendants.
