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R. Kelly, here during a hearing at the Leighton Courthouse in Chicago on September 17, 2019.
UNITED STATES – Fallen R&B star R. Kelly, already sentenced to 30 years in prison in June for sex crimes, was appearing again this week for similar charges in a court in his hometown of Chicago.
He is charged with obstruction of justice, production of child pornography and illegal sexual activity with a minor.
During a hearing on Thursday August 18, the woman who has been at the center of the singer’s legal problems for more than two decades gave a powerful testimony. According to her, R. Kelly sexually assaulted her “hundreds of times” when she was still a minor.
Jane – the now 37-year-old woman’s pseudonym – also said she was the girl in the video with R. Kelly, who was at the heart of his 2008 child pornography trial, and from which he was acquitted.
When the prosecutor asked her how old she was at the time of this video, Jane replied « 14 ans ». R. Kelly, now 55, was about 30 at the time. When asked why she kept having sex with the star, Jane said she considered him an authority figure then and didn’t know how to tell him. « non ».
She had to recruit other underage girls
She also admitted that R. Kelly asked her to recruit other underage girls to have sex with him.
According TMZJane had not spoken at the 2008 child pornography trial, and she and her family had denied her relationship with R. Kelly for years.
At the end of June, the singer was found guilty in New York of having piloted a ” system “ sexual exploitation of young people, including teenage girls, and sentenced to 30 years behind bars.
This conviction, the first in a trial where the majority of civil parties were black women, was seen as a turning point in the #MeToo movement.
The discussions had brought to light the ” system “ of R. Kelly to attract very young women and rape them, with the complicity of those around him. Many victims had recounted their meeting with their idol during concerts after which they were slipped a small piece of paper with the singer’s contact details.
He is also being sued in two other states.
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