R Kelly trial: Witness testifies singer had sex with her 'hundreds of times' when she was minor

Singer-songwriter and convicted sex offender R Kelly is being tried on fresh charges of child pornography and obstruction of justice in a Chicago court. A woman, called 'Jane', testified on the fourth day of the trial that R Kelly first made 'improper contact' with her when she was just 13, said media reports. She also said that he had sex with her hundreds of times before she turned 18. A few media reports claimed 'Jane' is R Kelly's goddaughter.

In the original 2008 trial, the testimony of 'Jane' and a sex tape allegedly involving Kelly and her served as the basis. But both Kelly and Jane said it was not them in the video, which led to Kelly being acquitted of all charges. It is for the 2008 trial that Kelly is being accused of 'fixing' by bribing the witnesses with money and gifts or intimidating and threatening them in the ongoing trial.

R Kelly is already serving a 30-year sentence in another trial held in New York in 2021. He is currently lodged at Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago.

Earlier, prosecutors had said that R Kelly, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, has a "dark" and "hidden" side that the general public rarely saw.

Born on January 8, 1967 on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, R. Kelly has faced sexual abuse charges since the 1990s. His first marriage was illegal as it was with an underage girl -- singer and actor Aaliyah. While Aaliyah was just 15, Kelly was 27.

It was acclaimed Lifetime documentary series titled 'Surviving R. Kelly', which detailed serious allegations by survivors, that led to the singer being charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse in 2019.