Throughout the six-week trial of singer R. Kelly, federal prosecutors called for 45 witnesses. This includes former employees, doctors who have been treated for herpes for over 10 years, and relatives of his whistleblowers. However, the basis of the case was based on his encounters with several women, some of whom were protected in court.
R & B artist Aaliyah
Kelly met Aaliyah at her parents’ home in Michigan in 1992 and produced her debut album “Age Ain’t Nothing buta Number”.
By the time she was 13, he had begun to sexually abuse her, the prosecutor said. In 1994, Kelly tried to avoid her prosecution by illegally marrying her, believing she might be pregnant. The two held a 10-minute ceremony in a room at the Sheraton Hotel in the Chicago area. Their marriage was later invalidated.
Aaliyah (full name Aaliyah Dana Horton) died in 2001 in a 22-year-old plane crash.
Gel Honda Pace, the first whistleblower to testify
Pace ran for the first two days of the trial and became the first whistleblower to testify to Kelly in court. She was also one of the earliest women to be made public in her accusations in a 2017 BuzzFeed article that caused a series of public anger at the singer.
She testified that Mr. Kelly had sex with her in 2009 when she was 16 and in her 40s.
Backup singer Angela said she was in high school when the abuse began
A woman named only Angela as the first victim to make a statement at the hearing of the judgment had previously said she met Mr. Kelly around 1991, between the ages of 14 and 15.
Kelly started having sex as a minor in high school and testified at last year’s trial. She also talked about how he often pressured her and some other backup performers to have sex.
Angela was also the first whistleblower to testify that she had seen Mr. Kelly and Aaliyah engaged in sexual activity.
During the hearing of the decision, Angela stared directly at Mr. Kelly and stood in the lecture, speaking in an unwavering voice. She called Mr. Kelly a Pied Piper who seduced children with his money and celebrities.
“Every time a new victim was added, you became wicked,” she said. “You used your fame and power to care for and guide underage boys and girls for their sexual satisfaction.”
Today, she said, “We will regain our name.” “We are no longer the prey of the past.”
Stephanie was a minor when he was abused
A Stephanie woman who gave her name only during the trial said she had asked Kelly to audition for her aspiring friend at a Nike store in 1999 when she was 17 years old. She is a singer.
Kelly agreed in return for her sexual favor, she said. The next six months were “the lowest time in my life,” Stephanie told the jury.
Stephanie, who spoke fifth at the judgment hearing and was called Jane Do No. 2, details how Kelly sweats back from a basketball game with her friends before having oral sex. did.
“I felt special because someone special in the world was interested in me,” she said.
A woman who testified with a pseudonym
The woman, who gave some of the most graphic testimonies of physical and sexual abuse in court, first endorsed Kelly in a notable interview with Gayle King on CBS Mornings in 2019.
However, she instructed the jury to rehearse the singer’s answers to potential questions from reporters and the general public, and to provide “appropriate” answers, even if they were wrong. Said.
faith, Who said the singer did not disclose sexually transmitted diseases
Faith, the sixth woman in the judgment hearing, said she began having sex with Mr. Kelly in 2017, when she was 19 years old, during the trial. But her encounters were sometimes fierce, and at one point she took her to her room with a gun, grabbed her neck, and asked him to have sex with her. Instructed.
Shortly after another sexual encounter, she was diagnosed with herpes. Her faith said that Mr. Kelly never told her that he had an incurable illness. She said, “Are you going to use a condom?” She remembered asking Mr. Kelly during her first sexual encounter. “He said,’I don’t need a condom.'”
During the hearing, faith appeared on her side with her father. “I hope you forgive me,” she cried. “I forgive myself.”
Sonya said she was imprisoned and raped
Sonya, who spoke at the hearing of the decision, was a 22-year-old radio intern when she met Mr. Kelly outside the Salt Lake City shopping district. testimony.
But when she arrived, she said earlier, Mr. Kelly locked her in his studio room for days. She didn’t have food, but she eventually brought something to eat. Then, after she chewed a few times, she began to feel drowsy, she said. She told the jury that when she later woke up she found her underwear hung on the couch and Mr. Kelly pulling up her pants.
At the hearing of the ruling, she explained how Kelly would let people see and follow her for years. “I was scared of my life,” she said.
Sonya also emailed the court a statement that she did not want to read it completely. But before leaving her lecture, she added: