Prosecutors on Saturday painted a dark portrait of a manipulative and sometimes violent R Kelly, describing how the US singer-songwriter repeatedly sought out underage girls for sex, including one girl he encountered at her 16th birthday party and another who met the rhythm and blues star while he was on trial for child pornography.
The accounts emerged as Kelly made his first court appearance since being accused of sexually abusing four people in a case that could produce another #MeToo reckoning for a celebrity.
A judge gave Kelly a chance to go free while awaiting trial, setting bond at US$1 million. That means the 52-year-old Grammy winner had to post US$100,000 to be released or remain behind bars until he is tried on the allegations, which date back as far as 1998 and span more than a decade.
Photo: AP
The prosecution released four documents, one for each accuser, outlining the basis for the charges.
A 16-year-old girl reported meeting Kelly in 1998 at a restaurant where she was having a birthday party, the files said. Kelly’s manager gave her the singer’s business card and suggested that she call Kelly, they said.
The girl’s mother heard the exchange, took the card and told the manager that her daughter was 16, but her daughter later retrieved the card from her purse, they said.
She contacted R Kelly, who gave her instructions and money that she assumed was for the taxi fare to his studio, where they had sex periodically for a year, the documents said.
Another accuser, also 16, met Kelly at his 2008 trial, where he gave her an autograph. He later invited her to his home in the Chicago suburb of Olympia Fields, where they had sex multiple times, according to the documents, which said that he also slapped, choked and spit on her.
In early 2003, a Chicago hairdresser told prosecutors that she thought she was going to braid Kelly’s hair, but he pulled down his pants and tried to force her to give him oral sex, the documents said.
The woman, who was 24, was able to pull away, but Kelly ejaculated on her and spit in her face, they said.
Prosecutors also described a witness who had access to videotapes showing Kelly having sex with a 14-year-old girl. The witness turned the tape over to authorities and identified the girl, who repeatedly states her age on the footage, the documents said.
Kelly’s DNA was found in semen on one of the accuser’s shirts and semen found on a shirt worn by another was submitted for DNA testing, said Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, the district attorney for the Illinois subdivision that includes Chicago.
It was not clear whether the accusers turned their shirts over to authorities shortly after the alleged abuse or more recently.
At the bond hearing, R Kelly’s attorney, Steve Greenberg, said that his client is not a flight risk.
“Contrary to the song, Mr Kelly doesn’t like to fly,” Greenberg told the judge.
Kelly “really doesn’t have any more money,” he added, suggesting that others had mismanaged his wealth.
Still, he said he expected that Kelly would be able to come up with enough money for bail.
The judge called the allegations “disturbing.”
R Kelly looked down at the floor as the judge spoke.
After the hearing, Greenberg told reporters that Kelly did not force anyone to have sex: “He’s a rock star. He doesn’t have to have nonconsensual sex.”
The judge ordered Kelly to surrender his passport, ending his hopes of doing a tour of Europe in April.
Kelly was acquitted of child pornography charges in 2008 and has consistently denied any sexual misconduct.
He has been charged with 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse. Each count of the new charges carries up to seven years in prison and the sentences could be served consecutively, making it possible for Kelly to receive up to 70 years.
PARLIAMENT CHAOS: Police forcibly removed Brazilian Deputy Glauber Braga after he called the legislation part of a ‘coup offensive’ and occupied the speaker’s chair Brazil’s lower house of Congress early yesterday approved a bill that could slash former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s prison sentence for plotting a coup, after efforts by a lawmaker to disrupt the proceedings sparked chaos in parliament. Bolsonaro has been serving a 27-year term since last month after his conviction for a scheme to stop Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office after the 2022 election. Lawmakers had been discussing a bill that would significantly reduce sentences for several crimes, including attempting a coup d’etat — opening up the prospect that Bolsonaro, 70, could have his sentence cut to
A plan by Switzerland’s right-wing People’s Party to cap the population at 10 million has the backing of almost half the country, according to a poll before an expected vote next year. The party, which has long campaigned against immigration, argues that too-fast population growth is overwhelming housing, transport and public services. The level of support comes despite the government urging voters to reject it, warning that strict curbs would damage the economy and prosperity, as Swiss companies depend on foreign workers. The poll by newspaper group Tamedia/20 Minuten and released yesterday showed that 48 percent of the population plan to vote
A powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake shook Japan’s northeast region late on Monday, prompting tsunami warnings and orders for residents to evacuate. A tsunami as high as three metres (10 feet) could hit Japan’s northeastern coast after an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.6 occurred offshore at 11:15 p.m. (1415 GMT), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. Tsunami warnings were issued for the prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate, and a tsunami of 40cm had been observed at Aomori’s Mutsu Ogawara and Hokkaido’s Urakawa ports before midnight, JMA said. The epicentre of the quake was 80 km (50 miles) off the coast of
Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro on Friday said that his father, jailed former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, has chosen him to lead the country’s powerful conservative movement, shaking up next year’s election race. The 44-year-old senator said on social media that he will carry forward the political legacy that reshaped Brazilian politics. His announcement makes him an instant contender for the presidency. Jair Bolsonaro, 70, is unlikely to run after being sentenced to 27 years for plotting a coup and banned from public office. He is appealing and seeking a legislative pardon. The former president also faces serious health issues, including complications from a
RSS