R. Kelly’s sex crimes trial in a Brooklyn courtroom continues to get underway with bombshell testimony from witnesses and accusers.
One of R. Kelly’s alleged victims broke down on the stand Monday as she recalled the abuse she endured during their five-year relationship, The Daily Beast reports. The woman, identified as “Jane,” was 17-years-old when she met Kelly after one of his concerts in Orlando, Florida. During their relationship, she lived with the singer and his girlfriends in Atlanta and Chicago, and was subjected to punishment whenever she violated his “rules.”
The woman described how Kelly forced her to get an abortion in 2017, made her eat feces, and gave her herpes.
“This man purposely gave me something he knew he had had. That he could have controlled,” Jane said on the stand, as Kelly sat emotionless, per the report.
Here’s more from The Daily Beast:
Breaking down on the stand, Jane explained that she and the other live-in girlfriends were forced to adhere to Kelly’s strict rules, including wearing baggy clothing and turning away from men who entered elevators. To ensure their silence and loyalty to Kelly, she said they were forced to write at least four fake letters every year that claimed they’d stolen money or had been molested by family members.
“They were to basically exploit us to protect him,” she explained.
Jane said she was also forced to record demeaning videos of herself as punishment—including one where she had to smear feces on her face and put it in her mouth. Afterward filming the degrading video, Kelly allegedly told her she “wasn’t into it enough” and that she “would have to redo it.” Jane said she refused.
“He had mentioned rules…protocols that I would have to abide by in his presence,” Jane said Monday, adding that “He wanted me to call him daddy.”
“He would control every single time we were intimate,” she later added. “He told me to walk back and forth and that’s what I would have to do until he gave me another direction.”
R. Kelly is accused of sexually abusing at least six women and girls, four of whom were minors when he first had sexual contact with them. He faces charges of racketeering based on kidnapping, sexual exploitation of children, and forced labor. He is also charged with transport his alleged victims across state lines for sex, a violation of the Mann Act.