*Warning**: This article**i may find some expressions offensive*
Singer R. Kelly, who was convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking in the US, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. The victims of American singer Kelly gave their testimonies of the harassment and ill-treatment they suffered in a New York courtroom in last year’s trial that lasted more than five weeks. R. Kelly was convicted last year, but his sentence was announced today. Kelly will also pay a $100,000 fine.
At last year’s hearing, 11 men and women, some of whom testified on condition of anonymity, said they had sexual relations with Kelly when they were underage. In their statements, the singer; They described him as an angry, controlling personality with a tendency to violence.
In those statements, they also said that Kelly wanted to be addressed as “Daddy”.
Some of the women who testified said they were forced to write blackmail letters containing false statements to be used against them in the future.
So what did the victims say about the singer, who is facing a life sentence during the trial?
One of the witnesses, listed as “Number 5” in the indictment, Jane Doe (the generic name given to unnamed female victims or witnesses in the US) said that she had met Kelly in 2015 when she was a 17-year-old artist candidate, and that she had been abused repeatedly during the five-year relationship.
The witness, now 23, said he contracted herpes, a type of sexually transmitted infection, after first having intercourse with the singer at the age of 17.
The witness noted that Kelly did not tell him he had a sexually transmitted disease, even though he was legally required to make a statement. “This man knowingly gave me something he knew was in his body, so he could control it.”
Kelly’s doctor also confirmed in her court testimony that the singer has been given medication for herpes infection since 2007.
The 23-year-old woman said she confronted Kelly about the infection, but the singer got angry and replied, “You might have gotten this from everyone.”
“I just told him I was with you,” the witness said, adding that when it became impossible for him to have sex because of the pain, R. Kelly said to him, “Your body is broken.”
‘I was forced to rub feces on my face’
Another witness, who testified under the name Faith, said she had contracted “herpes” from the singer.
Another woman, who wanted to be known by the name Kate, stated that the legal process she started against Kelly on the grounds that she had infected her with the virus, ended with a settlement agreement of 200 thousand dollars.
Kate also said in her statement that her whole life was in control by Kelly, that she was “punished” if she thought she had any disobedience.
Witness Kate also stated that Kelly used violence against her “every 2-3 days, resulting in her skin being torn”.
Kate also said that she got pregnant from the singer and was forced to have an abortion.
In her statement, the woman also said that Kelly forced her to shoot videos in which she was forced to rub feces on her face.
Witness Jerhonda Pace
Jerhonda Johnson Pace, the prosecution’s first witness, said Kelly had sexual intercourse with her in 2009, when she was just under 17, in the city of Chicago. (By the laws of this city, the age limit for consensual sex is 17.)
Jerhonda, who is 28 years old today, said she told R. Kelly she was 19 when they first met, but confessed her true age the day they were together for the first time.
In her statement to the court, Jerhonda stated that she was asked to wear “scout girl clothes with her hair in a tail” and that she was forced to shoot sex videos in this way.
Jerhonda Johnson Pace also said Kelly had to ask her permission to use the restroom. Pace also explained that if she was angry with him, she had to wait days.
Upon questions from Kelly’s lawyers during cross-examination, Jerhonda Pace admitted to making $25,000 for her book on her relationship with the singer.
What are you ready to do for your music career?
Among those testifying in court were two men who said they had been sexually abused by Kelly.
The witness, who testified under the name Louis, said he met Kelly in 2006, at the age of 17, while working the night shift at McDonald’s. Luis, a witness, said that Kelly invited him to his house to record music and at one point asked, “What are you ready to do for your music career?” he said he said.
Luis also claimed that Kelly had “blowjobed” him while he was still a minor, and later said that “it was between the two of them”.
A witness named Alex said that he met Kelly when he was still in high school and they started a relationship at the age of 20.
He also said that Kelly tried to forcefully kiss him and said, “Be open-minded.”
One of Alex’s important allegations caused R. Kelly to be accused of sex trafficking.
According to this claim, R. Kelly found women to have sex with Alex to videotape, and recorded these relationships for his own pleasure.
Alex also said that these women he was with “looked like zombies” as if they were drugged.
Another woman, who testified as Addie, testified that the singer raped her backstage after a concert in Miami.
‘I was completely shocked. I wasn’t myself’
Addie, who went to the concert with her friend, said that two men in the form of bodyguard approached them after the concert and invited them backstage.
Describing that she was brutally raped by Kelly when she entered the backstage, Addie said, “I was completely shocked. I wasn’t myself.”
Witness Addie, who told that her friend wanted to apply to the police after the incident, also said that she was afraid of being blacklisted by the entertainment industry if she applied to the official authorities.
Addie explained her reasoning in court, saying, “I didn’t know if they would believe me or not, I didn’t want to be the accused victim in the end.”
It was stated that this sexual assault took place only two days after R. Kelly’s marriage to singer Aaliyah.
Singer Aaliyah, who married Kelly at the age of 15 when she was still a minor, died in a plane crash at the age of 22. The couple’s marriage was annulled because it was illegal.