During singer R. Kelly’s six-week trial, federal prosecutors called 45 witnesses, including former employees, and a doctor who treated him for herpes for more than a decade. and relatives of his accusers. But the basis of the case rested on his encounters with a number of women, some of whom had their identities shielded in court.
R&B Artist Aaliyah
Mr. Kelly met Aaliyah in 1992 at her home in Michigan, and produced her debut album, “Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number.”
Prosecutors said that when she was 13 years old, he began sexually abusing her. In 1994, Mr. Kelly illegally married her, believing she might have been pregnant and seeking to avoid prosecution. The two had a 10-minute ceremony in a Sheraton hotel room in the Chicago area. Their marriage was later annulled.
Aaliyah, full name is Aaliyah Dana Haughtondied in 2001 in a plane crash at the age of 22.
Jerhonda Pace, the first accuser to testify
Miss Pace stood firm during the first two days of the trial, becoming the first accuser ever to testify against Mr. Kelly in court. She was also one of the earliest women to make her accusations public BuzzFeed article in 2017 that caused a wave of public outrage against the singer.
She testified that Mr. Kelly had sex with her in 2009, when she was 16 and he was 40.
Angela, a prep singer, said she was in high school when the abuse started
As the first victim to speak at the trial, a woman, who gave her name only as Angela, said she had previously met Mr. Kelly around 1991, when she was between 14 and 15 years old.
Mr. Kelly began having sex with her when she was underage and a high school student, she testified in court last year. She also recounted how he often forced her and several other supporting actors to have sex.
Angela was also the first accuser to testify that she had seen Mr. Kelly and Aaliyah engage in sexual acts.
During the sentencing hearing, Angela stood on the podium as she looked directly at Mr. Kelly and spoke in a steady voice. She called Mr. Kelly “Piper” who lured children with her money and celebrity.
“With each new victim you add, you become more evil,” she said. “You used your fame and power to groom and train underage boys and girls for your own sexual gratification.”
Today “we got our name back,” she said. “We are no longer the prey we once were.”
Stephanie, who was also underage when she was abused
A woman who took a stand during the trial gave only her name, Stephanie, says she approached Mr. Kelly at a Nike store in 1999, when she was 17, to ask him to audition for a friend who aspired to be a singer.
Mr. Kelly agreed, in exchange for sexual favors, she said. The next six months were “the lowest of my life,” Stephanie told jurors.
A woman testifying under a pseudonym
The woman, who gave some of the most graphic testimony about physical and sexual abuse at the trial, initially supported Mr. senior interview with Gayle King of “CBS This Morning” in 2019.
But she told jurors that the singer often instructs her to rehearse answers to potential questions from reporters or the public, providing her with “appropriate” answers – right away. even when they are wrong.
Trust, who said the singer did not disclose sexually transmitted diseases
Faith, the sixth woman to speak at the sentencing hearing, said during the trial that she began having sex with Mr. Kelly in 2017. When she was 19, the encounter sometimes turned violent, she said at the time, and on one occasion Mr. Kelly brought her into the room with a gun, grabbed her by the neck, and directed her to carry out the action. have sex with him.
Shortly after another sexual encounter, she was diagnosed with herpes. Faith said Mr. Kelly never told her he had a terminal illness. “I said, ‘Are you going to use a condom?’, she recalls asking Mr. Kelly during their first sex. “He said, ‘We don’t need condoms.'”
During the hearing, Faith appeared with her father at her side. “I hope you forgive yourself,” she said as she cried. “I forgive myself.”
Sonja who said she was jailed and raped
Sonja, who also spoke at the sentencing hearing, is a The 22-year-old intern met Kelly outside a Salt Lake City mall, and he invited her to Chicago for an interview in 2003, according to previous testimony.
But when she arrived, she said earlier, Mr. Kelly locked her in a room in his studio for days. She had no food, but was eventually brought something to eat. Then, after taking a few bites, she started to feel drowsy, she said. She told the jury she later woke up to find her panties covered on the couch and Mr. Kelly pulling up his pants.
During the hearing, she described how Kelly would let people watch and follow her throughout the years. “I was so scared for my life,” she said.
Sonja also emailed the court a statement that she didn’t want to read the whole thing. But before leaving the podium, she added: “I hope and I pray to God that we can all heal.”
