Convicted sex trafficker R. Kelly now stands accused of enticing minors for sex, producing child pornography and rigging an earlier trial.
Video / AP
R Kelly's alleged child sex tape victim is set to testify at his latest trial.
The girl is allegedly seen in multiple child pornography tapes from the late 1990s having sex with the disgraced 1990s R and B sensation.
She is expected to be the prosecution's star witness in IBelieve I Can Fly singer Kelly's trial on allegations he made child pornography and enticed underage girls for sex.
The singer is accused of having sex with the girl when she was 14 and she allegedly recorded some of their hundreds of sexual encounters. Kelly is said to have threatened and paid off the girl and allegedly videotaped himself having sex with her when he was about 30.
The tapes showing the alleged encounters were part of a 2008 Illinois child pornography trial in which Kelly was acquitted after the witness declined to take the stand, now nearly 40, she is finally expected to testify, using the pseudonym "Jane", said Assistant US Attorney Jason Julien during his opening statement on Wednesday, August 17.
He added: "Jane's going to testify. Jane's going to tell you that it's her on the videos – that it's Kelly on the videos having sex with her."
Prosecutors added Kelly's latest federal trial in Chicago is about his "dark" and "hidden" side.
Julien said Kelly – born Robert Sylvester Kelly – "repeatedly" had sex with girls who were aged 14, 15 and 16 and added Kelly had sex with "multiple girls, hundreds of times".
R Kelly was recently removed from suicide watch at a Brooklyn jail. Photo / AP
Julien also said Kelly's music career belonged to his "public side", before saying the singer had "another side – a hidden side, a dark side" continuing to say, "This trial is about Kelly's hidden side".
Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison in June for using his fame to sexually abuse young fans. He was recently removed from suicide watch at a Brooklyn jail and faces four counts of enticement of minors for sex, one each for four other accusers.
The Kelly associates are Derrel McDavid and Milton Brown, and are co-defendants at the Chicago trial.
McDavid is accused of helping Kelly fix the 2008 trial, while Brown is charged with receiving child pornography like Kelly, they have denied wrongdoing, and are expected to give evidence.
Kelly's lead lawyer Jennifer Bonjean urged the jury to reject the prosecution's portrayal of the singer.
She said: "When the government wants to paint him as a monster, remember we are talking about a human being."
Bonjean also warned jurors about what she described as a "mob justice climate" surrounding the case, referring to the six-part documentary Surviving R Kelly and social media posts about his behaviour.
Sexual harm - Where to get help
If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111. If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7: • Call 0800 044 334 • Text 4334 • Email support@safetotalk.nz • For more info or to web chat visit safetotalk.nz Alternatively contact your local police station - click here for a list. If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it's not your fault.
