Fallen R’n’B star American singer R. Kelly was portrayed as “Predator” by the prosecution, on the first day of his trial for sexual abuse, Wednesday, August 18, in New York. The 54-year-old singer, known around the world for his hit I believe I can fly, appeared silent, sometimes with his head bowed, in the courtroom of Brooklyn Federal Court. He was tried there for extortion, sexual exploitation of a minor, kidnapping, corruption and forced labor, over a period from 1994 to 2018.
According to the indictment, the successful singer, winner of three Grammy Awards in 1998, ran a network that recruited and prepared young girls to have sex with him, locking them in their hotel rooms when he was. on tour, asking them to wear loose clothing when they were not with him, “Keep your head down” and call it “Daddy” (” dad “).
Minimum ten years in prison
“We are talking about a predator (…). A man who, for decades, has used his fame, his popularity and a network of people at his disposal to target, prepare and exploit young girls, boys and women, to satisfy his sexual urges ”, launched, at the opening of the proceedings, the prosecutor Maria Cruz Melendez in front of the accused, in a gray suit and purple tie.
The magistrate described a sophisticated system, in which R. Kelly would have used “All the techniques of the predator” to approach minors or their families, but also used those around them, bodyguards, drivers, lawyers, accountants, to protect themselves, particularly with threats.
If found guilty on all charges by the jury, seven men and five women selected last week, R. Kelly, currently in custody, faces ten years in life imprisonment. The singer pleaded not guilty to all of the charges against him. “You will hear the whole story as a whole and justice will be done”, promised one of his lawyers, Nicole Blank Becker, arriving in court on Wednesday.
For more than twenty-five years, the singer from Chicago, with his voice tinged with gospel influences and hypersexualized lyrics, dominated the R’n’B scene, despite a sulphurous reputation, because he surrounded himself with very young girls, and accusations of sexual abuse. He continued to make a career out of amicable settlements, and even after a 2008 trial for child pornography, which ended in an acquittal.
Minors among the alleged victims
It wasn’t until January 2019, when the documentary series was released Surviving R. Kelly, that the judicial vise has really tightened. Now, the singer is indicted in four proceedings in three different states (Illinois, New York, Minnesota). “Today, finally, after almost two decades, people are speaking out (…) and I am very grateful to them ”, said, arriving in court, Jonjelyn Savage, mother of Joycelyn Savage, one of the former girlfriends and alleged victim of R. Kelly.
In New York, the singer is accused of having abused six women, including minors. Their identity has not been revealed, but among them is the singer Aaliyah, who died in August 2001 in a plane crash, at the age of 22. The indictment accuses R. Kelly of bribing an Illinois state official in 1994 to obtain false documents and marry a minor. An accusation that refers to the marriage, finally canceled, of the singer with the young star of R’n ‘B. She was then 15 years old. According to the prosecution, R. Kelly wanted to marry her to prevent her from testifying against him, because he had made her pregnant.
The prosecutor also referred to the case of Sonia, 22 at the time of the events, in 2003, an intern in a radio station and who hoped to obtain an interview with the singer after meeting him in Salt Lake City. According to the prosecution, the young woman was taken to Chicago, where she was locked in a room for three days and was sexually abused by the singer, then threatened not to speak.