Woman claims R Kelly had sex with her ‘hundreds’ of times before she turned 18
A woman has testified that R Kelly had sex with her “hundreds of times” when she was between the ages of 15 and 18.
At the R&B singer’s child pornography trial on Thursday (18 August), the 37-year-old woman, who appeared in court under the pseudonym “Jane”, told the jury that she met Kelly in the 1990s when she was 13.
She also testified that she was around 14 the first time he touched her breasts and when he “started penetration”. She would meet Kelly, now 55, at his Chicago recording studio, as well as his home.
Kelly was around 30 years old when he first had sex with her at 15, Jane testified.
The Ignition singer is already serving a 30-year sentence in New York on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges.
In his Chicago trial, which began with opening statements on Wednesday (17 August), Kelly faces charges of obstructing justice in a previous child pornography trial, as well as charges of child pornography and enticing minors to sex. He’s accused of previously paying off the same witness who testified today.
Jane had been involved in the music industry as a child and met Kelly when she accompanied her aunt, a professional singer, to his recording studio. Kelly told Jane’s parents he was going to be her “godfather”, according to the witness.
Asked by a prosecutor how many times they had sex before Jane turned 18, she answered: “Uncountable times… Hundreds.”
Jurors are expected to be shown video evidence of Kelly’s alleged crimes, including a video the singer shot of Jane in his home in the late 1990s. Before his legal troubles began in 2008, Kelly was known to carry a bag of sex tapes around with him, according to court filings.
Kelly, who saw the allegations against him publicised in the 2019 documentary series Surviving R. Kelly, denies all charges.
