Jerhonda Pace, 16 at the time of the incident, recounted the sexual abuse inflicted by the RnB star. The trial against R. Kelly has numerous charges including that of sexual exploitation.
R. Kelly’s trial began on August 19, 2021. Testimonies from young women are growing against the singer, who is on trial in Brooklyn federal court for extortion, sexual exploitation of a minor, kidnapping, bribery and forced labor, on a period from 1994 to 2018. He faces a minimum of 10 years in prison. On August 20, 2021 on the second day of the trial, Jerhonda Pace, 28, 16 when she met the singer, spoke. She recounted the violence and humiliation of the singer, winner at the time of 3 Grammy Awards. Jerhonda Pace, in tears, read excerpts from her diary at the time to recount what she experienced. It testifies to a period bathed in permanent fear: “if I lie to her again, next time it won’t be a little slap” she wrote at the time. The victim also accuses the star of having deliberately transmitted genital herpes to her at the time without warning her.
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Forced to disguise herself according to R. Kelly’s fantasies
The young woman recounts this episode of violence where the singer strangled her until she fainted, before then having sex with her. R. Kelly, described as a sexual predator, asked him to wear boy scout outfits or braids to better satisfy his fantasies during lovemaking he was filming. These are not the first accusations of sexual manipulation against the singer. The artist faced legal action as early as 2002 for sexual matters. In 2008, he was charged with 14 counts of child pornography and finally acquitted. The testimonies accusing him of having sex slaves continued to multiply. Until 2019, where a documentary frontally shows the hidden face of the singer, danger for young women.