As the federal trial for embattled singer R. Kelly gets underway in New York, prosecutors are portraying the musician as a diabolical predator who devised vicious schemes to keep young women submissive.
Assistant US attorney Maria Cruz Melendez outlined the loose criminal organization that R. Kelly allegedly constructed in order to attract and retain a so-called cult of underage girls, young women and males.
Melendez told the jury in opening statements that Robert Sylvester Kelly, 54, “used his fame, his popularity and a network of people at his disposal to target, groom and exploit young girls, boys, and women for his own sexual gratification,” Buzzfeed News reported from New York.
One of the women, Jerhonda Pace, told the court that Kelly courted her at age 16. She admitted she initially lied about her age in order to be with Kelly, but said she later showed proof of her actual age. Once she began living at his home, she tried to obey his commands and satisfy his sexual proclivities. But she said the prolific “Bump N’ Grind” songwriter often administered harsh punishments when she disappointed him.
Pace said Kelly slapped her on more than one occasion when she was considered disrespectful, like when she said she preferred the Cleveland Cavaliers over his hometown Chicago Bulls.
Flip the page to read what R. Kelly allegedly did to her sexually and the violent act that Kelly committed that eventually led her to flee from his home.
