R. Kelly a `predator', prosecutor tells court
Singer's trial for sex abuse, extortion begins
• R. Kelly is a “predator” who demanded absolute fealty from the many women and underage girls he recruited for sex in a two-decade racketeering scheme, a federal prosecutor said on Wednesday as the R&B star's sex abuse trial began.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Cruz Melendez told a jury of seven men and five women in Brooklyn federal court that Kelly, 54, used “lies, manipulation, threats and physical abuse” to dominate his victims, and often filmed their sexual encounters.
The indictment describes Kelly's alleged dealings with six women and girls, including the late singer Aaliyah, who was 15 when she married Kelly.
“This case is about a predator,” Melendez said in her opening statement. “This case is not about a celebrity who likes to party a lot.”
But Kelly's lawyer, Nicole Blank Becker, said the government's case had “gaps,” and that Kelly's accusers, including several whose names are not public, were former fans who turned on him because they were unhappy their relationships didn't work out.
“They knew exactly what they were getting into,” Becker said. “The relationships Mr. Kelly had with the various Jane Does were consenting relationships.”
Kelly, a three-time Grammy winner whose songs include I Believe I Can Fly and Bump N' Grind, has pleaded not guilty to a nine-count indictment that include accusations of bribery and extortion. He has strongly denied wrongdoing.
Prosecutors will argue that Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, used an entourage of managers, bodyguards and others to recruit victims, sometimes at concerts.
Melendez said Kelly would require victims to get his permission before doing virtually anything, including going to the bathroom, and blackmail them by threatening to release self-incriminating letters he forced them to write if they fled.
Some female accusers and at least one male accuser are expected to testify for the government.
The trial is expected to last about one month.
It is the culmination of years of suspicions and accusations against Kelly, many discussed in the 2019 Lifetime documentary Surviving R. Kelly, and nearly four years after the start of the #Metoo era.