2 more R. Kelly accusers testify at trial in Chicago

Aug 29, 2022, 4:29 PM | Updated: Aug 30, 2022, 12:26 pm

CHICAGO (AP) — Two more accusers took the witness stand at R. Kelly’s child pornography and solicitation of minors trial Monday, bringing to three the total number of accusers to have testified to date at the federal trial in Chicago.

The first accuser, who testified two weeks ago under the pseudonym “Jane,” is critical to another of the charges — that the R&B singer successfully rigged his 2008 state child pornography trial by threating witnesses and concealing video evidence.

Kelly, 55, was handed a 30-year prison sentence by a federal judge in New York in June for convictions on racketeering and sex trafficking charges.

In all, the prosecution cited five accusers in pre-trial filings, though it is unclear if both of the remaining accusers will testify before the government rests sometime this week. The trial was expected to last a month, wrapping up in mid-September.

An accuser who used the pseudonym “Pauline,” told jurors Monday she was a middle school classmate of Jane’s and that Jane introduced her to Kelly in 1998 when they were 14 and Kelly was around 30.

When she was at Kelly’s Chicago home later that year, Pauline said she was startled to walk in on Kelly and a naked Jane in a basement area. She said Kelly told her that “we all have secrets” and that this is “our secret.”

Pauline several times told jurors she had loved Kelly. But, as a 37-year-old mom, she said she now had a different perspective.

“If somebody did something to my kids, I’m killing ’em. Period,” she said.

Kelly sexually abused her over 100 times, starting when she was 14, and they first had intercourse when she was 15, she testified.

Under cross-examination, lead Kelly lawyer Jennifer Bonjean accused Pauline of being imprecise about how many times she had sex with Kelly when she was underage.

“Whether it is once or twice, what’s wrong is wrong,” Pauline shot back.

The second accuser to testify Monday, referred to only as Tracy, said she was introduced to Kelly when she was 16 by a boss at a record company she was interning for in 1998. Tracy told jurors she repeatedly rebuffed Kelly’s advances.

At a room in Kelly’s Chicago studio, she recalled telling him after he began pulling her close to him, “You know I’m 16?” Minutes later, when he “exposed himself… I tried to pull back but he had a hold of my shirt,” Tracy testified.

On another occasion, she described Kelly coming into a hotel room where Tracy was staying and yelling at her for having clothes on under her bathrobe.

“I told him I didn’t want to have sex,” she testified.

But she said Kelly ordered her to get into the bed with him anyway and that at several points used force to sexually abuse her. She said she first had intercourse with Kelly when she was 16, then dozens of times when she was 17 and 18.

Tracy began to cry on the stand Monday as she began to tell jurors about the day Kelly walked into a room where Tracy had been waiting. Kelly arrived with Jane.

“I was really confused and just really angry,” she recalled. “I just didn’t really think there was anyone else but me and Rob.”

Kelly’s 2008 trial revolved around a video that state prosecutors said showed Kelly abusing Jane. But after acquitting Kelly in 2008, jurors said they had no choice because the girl did not take the witness stand at that trial.

Jane did testify at the current trial, saying she was the child in the video and Kelly was the adult man.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Haitian migrant Gerson Solay, 28, carries his daughter, Bianca, as he and his family cross into Can...
Associated Press

US, Canada to end loophole that allows asylum-seekers to move between countries

President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced a plan to close a loophole to an immigration agreement.
1 day ago
Expert skateboarder Di'Orr Greenwood, an artist born and raised in the Navajo Nation in Arizona and...
Associated Press

Indigenous skateboard art featured on new stamps unveiled at Phoenix skate park

The Postal Service unveiled the “Art of the Skateboard" stamps at a Phoenix skate park, featuring designs from Indigenous artists.
1 day ago
(Facebook Photo/City of San Luis, Arizona)...
Associated Press

San Luis authorities receive complaints about 911 calls going across border

Authorities in San Luis say they are receiving more complaints about 911 calls mistakenly going across the border.
7 days ago
(Pexels Photo)...
Associated Press

Daylight saving time begins in most of US this weekend

No time change is observed in Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas.
15 days ago
Mexican army soldiers prepare a search mission for four U.S. citizens kidnapped by gunmen in Matamo...
Associated Press

How the 4 abducted Americans in Mexico were located

The anonymous tip that led Mexican authorities to a remote shack where four abducted Americans were held described armed men and blindfolds.
15 days ago
Tom Brundy points to a newly built irrigation canal on one of the fields at his farm Tuesday, Feb. ...
Associated Press

Southwest farmers reluctant to idle farmland to save water

There is a growing sense that fallowing will have to be part of the solution to the increasingly desperate drought in the West.
22 days ago

Sponsored Articles

(Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona Photo)...
Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona

5 common causes for chronic neck pain

Neck pain can debilitate one’s daily routine, yet 80% of people experience it in their lives and 20%-50% deal with it annually.
(Photo by Michael Matthey/picture alliance via Getty Images)...
Cox Communications

Valley Boys & Girls Club uses esports to help kids make healthy choices

KTAR’s Community Spotlight focuses on the Boys & Girls Club of the Valley and the work to incorporate esports into children's lives.
(Photo via MLB's Arizona Fall League / Twitter)...
Arizona Fall League

Top prospects to watch at this year’s Arizona Fall League

One of the most exciting elements of the MLB offseason is the Arizona Fall League, which began its 30th season Monday.
2 more R. Kelly accusers testify at trial in Chicago