As the trial of Robert Kelly continued in its eight day in the city of Brooklyn in New York on Monday, an accuser testifying for the prosecution has told the court how the now disgraced singer raped her, a 17-year-old fan at the backstage of his concert, moments after a show in Miami in 1994.

BASIC FACTS

• Kelly, the 54-year-old singer currently under US federal trial for racketeering and sex trafficking charges have faced accusations and the testimonies of prosecution witnesses against him for the currently eight-day trial, as at Monday.
• The trial is happening before an anonymous seven men and five women jury under strict pandemic guidelines in Brooklyn, New York.
• It is reported that the prosecution plans on presenting evidence that Kelly allegedly abused 22 victims, even though the charges for which R. Kelly stands trial focuses around only six victims.
• This trial continued in Brooklyn, New York on Monday, with a witness who accused him of raping her as a 17-year old minor just days after his secret marriage to the late Aaliyah.
• This witness, the fourth accuser presented by the prosecution to testify in Brooklyn’s Federal District Court on Monday, told jurors that the I belief I can Fly and Happy People singer had raped her after his performance at the 1994 Super Fest concert in Miami.
• This fourth witness was named “Addie”, and claims she was picked from the crowd after the show with her friend by two assistants of R. Kelly to get autographs from the singer at the backstage.
• The accuser said on stand that one of her expectations for going to the backstage was to see Aaliyah, whom she learnt was already pregnant for R. Kelly and secretly married to him recently.
• Addie (the accused) claimed that while she got to the backstage R. Kelly sexually molested her in his dressing room right in front of her friend, while noting that they were told ‘I want to know which one of you kiss better’ by R. Kelly who then kissed her friend first and before turning to kiss her too.
• According to Addie, who claimed that R. Kelly ‘started getting a little more aggressive’ also said that the singer instructed her to go to the back of the room and when she got there the singer pulled her dress and there and then had sex with her without protection.
• She said in her testimony that this put her into shock: ‘At this point, I was in complete shock,’, ‘I just went blank’, she said to the jury. She also testified to the jury that she was unable to report the matter to the police due to fear of retribution in the entertainment industry where she was already hoping for a career in dancing and acting.
• She said she was also scared and doubtful if the police will believe her story: ‘I didn’t even know if they would believe me. I didn’t want to be victim-shamed,’ she claimed in her testimony.
• The witness alleges that R. Kelly committed this crime in 1994 at the backstage of one of his shows which took place in the city of Miami, moments after the gig. The singer has denied all the charges.

KEY TAKEAWAY

Addie’s` accusation was challenged by R. Kelly`s lawyer, Deveraux Cannick during cross-examination. He demanded to know why the accuser did not come forward with this sexual assault experience until 2019, which was many years after.

Addie who is now 44 years old, responded swiftly, saying – ‘I didn’t want more victim-shaming and more trauma at that time…I’m an adult now. I’m no longer a little girl.’

It should also be noted that R. Kelly has denied all charges and allegations from this accuser and other witnesses so far presented by the prosecution against him. The prosecution still plans for at least 2 more witnesses going by the indictment which centers on 6 witnesses. This may vary as the case develops.

FLASHBACK

Clarform News had earlier reported on R. Kelly`s sexual molestation and sex trafficking trial. R. Kelly has been held in US federal prison awaiting trial since July 2019, between the cities of Chicago and New York since his federal indictments for sex abuse related offences were announced.

Kelly was moved to New York since June 2021 and presently at the Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal lockup in Brooklyn. He was detained in same prison with Ghislaine Maxwell, a British citizen who was indicted in the sex abuse case involving the late sex abuser – Jeffrey Epstein.

The R&B star is now officially on trial after the long wait, and has been charged for offences, which are all sex-related cases in New York, Illinois and Minnesota. He was reportedly first arrested on sex-related charges in 2002 after a video, allegedly showing him having sex with a 14-year-old girl, was sent to the Chicago Sun-Times, but he was acquitted in 2008 after lengthy delays.

Kelly was also accused of bribing officials of the government in the state of Illinois in 1994 to sustain his marriage to the late Aaliyah, who was then 15 years as contained in new court revelations. He was accused of bribing the government officials for a fake ID listing Aaliyah as 18years on the marriage license.