R Kelly appeared in criminal court on Wednesday to face the long-anticipated Federal trial for sexual assault and racketeering, and a prosecutor described the scandalous R&B performer to be a person who made use of his “fame as well as his popularity and a network of people” to attract young boys, girls and women to dominate and control the latter.
R&B Singer R. Kelly To Be Condemned For Luring Women, Girls For Sex
Maria Cruz Melendez, for the prosecution, said to the court in its opening statements: “This case is about the predator.”
A decade has passed since Kelly was cleared in a 2008 child sexual assault images trial in Chicago. The decision was a reprieve that allowed his career in music to continue even after the #MeToo period came to a head and enthused victims to speak out.
The women’s stories gained broad exposure thanks to the Lifetime documentary, Surviving R Kelly, which debuted in January of 2019. The documentary explored the claims that a group of loyalists protected Kelly and kept his victims in a solitary state for decades. Two women part of the documentary series are scheduled to testify in the trial.
After the film’s release, Kelly was arrested in the months following the release of the documentary. The R&B singer was detained in July 2019 by federal accusations of racketeering as well as in violation of the Mann Act, which prohibits the transportation of women and girls with the intention of debauchery or prostitution. Kelly has admitted not guilty to the charges.
Kelly is accused of being guilty of committing a series of numerous crimes while being a director in an “enterprise” comprised of close associates, such as bodyguards, managers, personal assistants, runners, and others who assisted Kelly in attracting girls and women who were allegedly involved in sexual relationships. The crimes involve bribery, sexual exploitation, generating images of child abuse and coercion, and the use of enticement.
The defense team explained the arguments the prosecution would be presenting during the trial; Melendez informed his jury that Kelly was part of for himself an “inner circle” consisting of his closest employees whose mission was to aid him in maintaining his clean, publicly-facing “persona” and to fulfill “each and each of Kelly’s requirements and wishes” which included helping to find and groom young girls and women for sexual liaisons.
Melendez revealed to jurors how Kelly was a star in the 1990s and began to headline shows and work with other artists in the world of music.
This accomplishment “brought Kelly the opportunity to access girls, boys, and women in their teens,” Melendez said. She added that Kelly “quickly realized he was able to profit from this opportunity.”
She explained that Kelly “used each trick from the predator’s handbook” and enticed young girls and women, even teenagers, through tickets backstage and his number. He invited them – many of them were musicians who admired Kelly to be a role model to come to his home or his studio. Frequently provided and helped organize travel for girls to visit Kelly, Melendez said.
Kelly, Melendez said, would abuse women for violating “the rules,” which included asking for permission to go to bathrooms, to eat, or make calls or telling him “daddy” or wearing baggy clothes that concealed their bodies and not gazing at males.
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