New witness in the trial of R. Kelly: 'I was not allowed to go to the toilet for three days, I was 16, he was 42'
The trial of singer R. Kelly, who is accused of raping six victims between 1994 and 2018, at least four of whom were minors at the time, continues in Brooklyn.
Prosecutor Maria Cruz Melendez told a jury in Brooklyn federal court that R. Kelly, 54, used ‘lies, manipulation, threats and physical abuse’ to dominate his victims and that he often filmed them during sexual intercourse.
The indictment charges him with abusing six women and girls, including the late singer Aaliyah, who was 15 when she married him.
His lawyer Nicole Blank Becker claimed that the indictment has "flaws" and that Kelly, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, is accusing former fans of being unhappy because their relationship with him failed.
- They knew what they were getting into. The connections Kelly had with various Jane Does were connections with consent, Becker said.
On Wednesday, the second day of the trial, Jerhonda Pace, 28, testified, claiming that Kelly started abusing her in 2009 when she was 16 and he was 42.
Pace claims that Kelly was happy when he found out she was a virgin because that's how he can 'train' her to best satisfy him sexually. She testified about her other experiences with the R&B singer and said that he made her call him ‘Daddy’ and that she was not allowed to use the toilet or eat without his permission.
