A woman who accuses R. Kelly of sexually abusing her told jurors at his racketeering trial on Wednesday that she was unnerved when she saw a gun near where the R&amp;B singer forced her to perform oral sex on him. 
 
In her second day of testimony, the woman, who identified herself as Faith, said the Los Angeles encounter took place in January 2018, near the end of an 11-month relationship during which Kelly flew her several times to concerts or recording studios and trained her to please him sexually. 
 
Faith, who said she was 19 when she met the then-50-year-old Kelly at a San Antonio concert in March 2017, testified that the gun left her "intimidated" and fearful of what would happen if she tried to leave. 
 
"I wasn`t even going to step out of line," she told the jury of seven men and five women in Brooklyn federal court. 
 
On cross-examination, Kelly`s lawyer Deveraux Cannick tried to poke holes in Faith`s testimony, trying to show jurors it was her choice to keep seeing the singer despite her claims she did not always welcome his sexual advances. 
 
"You participated on your own will," Cannick said to Faith. 
 
Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, has been on trial since Aug. 18 for running what prosecutors called a decades-long scheme targeting women and girls for sex, with the help of employees and assistants in his entourage. 
 
Known for the 1996 Grammy-winning song "I Believe I Can Fly," the 54-year-old Kelly has pleaded not guilty to one racketeering count and eight counts of violating an interstate sex trafficking law. 
 
Faith said her relationship with Kelly ended in February 2018 at a hotel in Manhattan, where she resisted his desire for sex and made it physically difficult for him to attempt intercourse. 
 
"I know I had pissed him off," Faith said. 
 
Soon after returning home to Texas, Faith said she tested positive for type-1 herpes. 
 
She blamed Kelly, and said he would not discuss it on a later phone call, after she had hired legal counsel. 
 
"I knew it was him," Faith said. 
 
Cannick challenged some of Faith`s recollections, asking how she could remember so many details of her final interactions with Kelly in 2018 when "you don`t remember what time you met with (prosecutors) on Sunday." 
 
Faith also said she did not like being labeled a "victim" of Kelly, mirroring her comments from an earlier podcast. 
 
"You`re not a victim?" Cannick asked. 
 
"Correct," Faith responded. 
 
Kelly`s indictment describes the alleged mistreatment of six women and girls, including the late singer Aaliyah. A male accuser has also said Kelly sexually abused him. 
 
Several accusers, including Faith, and former employees have testified that Kelly demanded strict obedience to his rules even as he preyed on women and girls, including aspiring singers who hoped he could advance their own music careers. 
 
Other testimony for the prosecution came from Faith`s mother, and from the minister who oversaw Kelly`s 1994 wedding to Aaliyah, when Kelly was 27 and Aaliyah was 15. The marriage was annulled after six months. 
 
Coronavirus protocols have required the press and public to watch the trial in overflow courtrooms with video feeds. 
 
Before Wednesday`s testimony, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nadia Shihata said negative comments had been made on Tuesday in an overflow courtroom, with one person calling a witness a "stupid bitch." 
 
Kelly`s lawyers declined to comment when asked if it wanted to respond. 
 
Many sexual abuse accusations against Kelly were discussed in the 2019 Lifetime documentary "Surviving R. Kelly." Kelly also faces sex-related charges in Illinois and Minnesota.

A woman who accuses R. Kelly of sexually abusing her told jurors at his racketeering trial on Wednesday that she was unnerved when she saw a gun near where the R&B singer forced her to perform oral sex on him.

A woman who accuses R. Kelly of sexually abusing her told jurors at his racketeering trial on Wednesday that she was unnerved when she saw a gun near where the R&B singer forced her to perform oral sex on him. In her second day of testimony, the woman, who identified herself as Faith, said the Los Angeles encounter took place in January 2018, near the end of an 11-month relationship during which Kelly flew her several times to concerts or recording studios and trained her to please him sexually. Faith, who said she was 19 when she met the then-50-year-old Kelly at a San Antonio concert in March 2017, testified that the gun left her "intimidated" and fearful of what would happen if she tried to leave. "I wasn`t even going to step out of line," she told the jury of seven men and five women in Brooklyn federal court. On cross-examination, Kelly`s lawyer Deveraux Cannick tried to poke holes in Faith`s testimony, trying to show jurors it was her choice to keep seeing the singer despite her claims she did not always welcome his sexual advances. "You participated on your own will," Cannick said to Faith. Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, has been on trial since Aug. 18 for running what prosecutors called a decades-long scheme targeting women and girls for sex, with the help of employees and assistants in his entourage. Known for the 1996 Grammy-winning song "I Believe I Can Fly," the 54-year-old Kelly has pleaded not guilty to one racketeering count and eight counts of violating an interstate sex trafficking law. Faith said her relationship with Kelly ended in February 2018 at a hotel in Manhattan, where she resisted his desire for sex and made it physically difficult for him to attempt intercourse. "I know I had pissed him off," Faith said. Soon after returning home to Texas, Faith said she tested positive for type-1 herpes. She blamed Kelly, and said he would not discuss it on a later phone call, after she had hired legal counsel. "I knew it was him," Faith said. Cannick challenged some of Faith`s recollections, asking how she could remember so many details of her final interactions with Kelly in 2018 when "you don`t remember what time you met with (prosecutors) on Sunday." Faith also said she did not like being labeled a "victim" of Kelly, mirroring her comments from an earlier podcast. "You`re not a victim?" Cannick asked. "Correct," Faith responded. Kelly`s indictment describes the alleged mistreatment of six women and girls, including the late singer Aaliyah. A male accuser has also said Kelly sexually abused him. Several accusers, including Faith, and former employees have testified that Kelly demanded strict obedience to his rules even as he preyed on women and girls, including aspiring singers who hoped he could advance their own music careers. Other testimony for the prosecution came from Faith`s mother, and from the minister who oversaw Kelly`s 1994 wedding to Aaliyah, when Kelly was 27 and Aaliyah was 15. The marriage was annulled after six months. Coronavirus protocols have required the press and public to watch the trial in overflow courtrooms with video feeds. Before Wednesday`s testimony, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nadia Shihata said negative comments had been made on Tuesday in an overflow courtroom, with one person calling a witness a "stupid bitch." Kelly`s lawyers declined to comment when asked if it wanted to respond. Many sexual abuse accusations against Kelly were discussed in the 2019 Lifetime documentary "Surviving R. Kelly." Kelly also faces sex-related charges in Illinois and Minnesota.

R Kelly accuser says she saw a nearby gun while forced to have oral sex

R Kelly is a 'predator' who demanded absolute fealty from the many women and underage girls he dominated in a two-decade racketeering scheme, a federal prosecutor said on Wednesday as the R&amp;B star`s sex abuse trial began. 
 
Kelly`s defense team countered that the government`s case had "gaps," and that the 54-year-old singer`s accusers were unhappy former fans who wanted to get back at him because their relationships didn`t work out. 
 
In her opening statement, Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Cruz Melendez told the Brooklyn jury of seven men and five women that Kelly used "lies, manipulation, threats and physical abuse" to control his victims, and often filmed their sexual encounters. 
 
The indictment describes Kelly`s alleged dealings with six women and girls, four underage at the time. They include the late singer Aaliyah, who was 15 when she married Kelly. 
 
"This case is about a predator," Melendez said. "This case is not about a celebrity who likes to party a lot." 
 
Kelly`s lawyer Nicole Blank Becker rejected prosecutors` claims, saying the accusers` relationships with Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, were consensual. 
 
"They knew exactly what they were getting into," Becker said. 
 
Kelly, a three-time Grammy winner whose songs include "I Believe I Can Fly" and "Bump N` Grind," has pleaded not guilty to a nine-count indictment that includes accusations of bribery and extortion. He has strongly denied wrongdoing. 
 
Prosecutors say Kelly used an entourage of managers, bodyguards and others to recruit victims, and threatened to blackmail them if they fled. 
 
The first prosecution witness, Jerhonda Pace, 28, testified she had once been a fan of Kelly. She also said she had his name tattooed on her left breast, at his suggestion. 
 
But Pace said their relationship became difficult, with Kelly demanding she call him "Daddy" and get his permission to go to the bathroom, and ended after he choked her until she passed out. 
 
Known as Jane Doe No. 4 in the indictment, Pace said Kelly knew she was 16 when they had intercourse because she had shown him identification, but told her to pretend she was 19. 
 
"He told me he was going to train me to please him sexually," Pace, now married and soon expecting her fifth child, testified. 
 
Pace also testified that Kelly gave her herpes, while prosecutors said DNA evidence from a shirt she wore matched his. 
Asked if she still had the tattoo, Pace said: "It`s covered up with a black heart." 
 
Pace`s testimony will continue on Thursday. Other female accusers and at least one male accuser are expected to testify for the government also, some using only their first names. 
 
YEARS OF SUSPICIONS 
 
The trial was delayed several times by the coronavirus pandemic and is expected to last about one month. 
 
It is the culmination of years of suspicions and accusations against Kelly, many discussed in the 2019 Lifetime documentary "Surviving R. Kelly," and nearly four years after the start of the #MeToo era. 
 
Kelly has been jailed for more than two years, and could face decades in prison if convicted. 
 
Even if he is acquitted, he still faces sex-related charges in Illinois and Minnesota, where he has also pleaded not guilty. 
 
Melendez said another accuser, Sonja, was sexually abused nearly two decades ago at Kelly`s studio in Chicago, where the 22-year-old hoped to interview him for a radio station where she interned. 
 
The prosecutor said Sonja was locked in a room at the studio for three days, and once lost consciousness after being fed. 
 
Upon awakening, Sonja felt wetness between her legs, saw Kelly fastening his pants, and realized she had been sexually assaulted, Melendez said.

Later in the trial, prosecutors will try to show that Kelly bribed an Illinois official in 1994 to obtain a fake ID for Aaliyah, who is Jane Doe No. 1 in the indictment and whose marriage license showed her age as 18, so that they could marry.

According to prosecutors, Kelly believed he had impregnated Aaliyah, and hoped a marriage would keep her from having to testify against him. Aaliyah died in a 2001 plane crash. 
 
Eight counts in the indictment allege violations of the federal Mann Act, which makes it a crime to transport people across state lines for prostitution. 
 
Rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry is among other well-known people convicted under that law. The actor and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin was acquitted of the charge. 
 
Kelly was acquitted of child pornography charges at a 2008 trial in Illinois. 
 
He last released a studio album in 2016. Kelly`s career stalled following the Lifetime documentary and the latest charges.

R Kelly is a 'predator' who demanded absolute fealty from the many women and underage girls he dominated in a two-decade racketeering scheme, a federal prosecutor said on Wednesday as the R&B star`s sex abuse trial began.

R Kelly is a 'predator' who demanded absolute fealty from the many women and underage girls he dominated in a two-decade racketeering scheme, a federal prosecutor said on Wednesday as the R&B star`s sex abuse trial began. Kelly`s defense team countered that the government`s case had "gaps," and that the 54-year-old singer`s accusers were unhappy former fans who wanted to get back at him because their relationships didn`t work out. In her opening statement, Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Cruz Melendez told the Brooklyn jury of seven men and five women that Kelly used "lies, manipulation, threats and physical abuse" to control his victims, and often filmed their sexual encounters. The indictment describes Kelly`s alleged dealings with six women and girls, four underage at the time. They include the late singer Aaliyah, who was 15 when she married Kelly. "This case is about a predator," Melendez said. "This case is not about a celebrity who likes to party a lot." Kelly`s lawyer Nicole Blank Becker rejected prosecutors` claims, saying the accusers` relationships with Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, were consensual. "They knew exactly what they were getting into," Becker said. Kelly, a three-time Grammy winner whose songs include "I Believe I Can Fly" and "Bump N` Grind," has pleaded not guilty to a nine-count indictment that includes accusations of bribery and extortion. He has strongly denied wrongdoing. Prosecutors say Kelly used an entourage of managers, bodyguards and others to recruit victims, and threatened to blackmail them if they fled. The first prosecution witness, Jerhonda Pace, 28, testified she had once been a fan of Kelly. She also said she had his name tattooed on her left breast, at his suggestion. But Pace said their relationship became difficult, with Kelly demanding she call him "Daddy" and get his permission to go to the bathroom, and ended after he choked her until she passed out. Known as Jane Doe No. 4 in the indictment, Pace said Kelly knew she was 16 when they had intercourse because she had shown him identification, but told her to pretend she was 19. "He told me he was going to train me to please him sexually," Pace, now married and soon expecting her fifth child, testified. Pace also testified that Kelly gave her herpes, while prosecutors said DNA evidence from a shirt she wore matched his. Asked if she still had the tattoo, Pace said: "It`s covered up with a black heart." Pace`s testimony will continue on Thursday. Other female accusers and at least one male accuser are expected to testify for the government also, some using only their first names. YEARS OF SUSPICIONS The trial was delayed several times by the coronavirus pandemic and is expected to last about one month. It is the culmination of years of suspicions and accusations against Kelly, many discussed in the 2019 Lifetime documentary "Surviving R. Kelly," and nearly four years after the start of the #MeToo era. Kelly has been jailed for more than two years, and could face decades in prison if convicted. Even if he is acquitted, he still faces sex-related charges in Illinois and Minnesota, where he has also pleaded not guilty. Melendez said another accuser, Sonja, was sexually abused nearly two decades ago at Kelly`s studio in Chicago, where the 22-year-old hoped to interview him for a radio station where she interned. The prosecutor said Sonja was locked in a room at the studio for three days, and once lost consciousness after being fed. Upon awakening, Sonja felt wetness between her legs, saw Kelly fastening his pants, and realized she had been sexually assaulted, Melendez said. Later in the trial, prosecutors will try to show that Kelly bribed an Illinois official in 1994 to obtain a fake ID for Aaliyah, who is Jane Doe No. 1 in the indictment and whose marriage license showed her age as 18, so that they could marry. According to prosecutors, Kelly believed he had impregnated Aaliyah, and hoped a marriage would keep her from having to testify against him. Aaliyah died in a 2001 plane crash. Eight counts in the indictment allege violations of the federal Mann Act, which makes it a crime to transport people across state lines for prostitution. Rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry is among other well-known people convicted under that law. The actor and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin was acquitted of the charge. Kelly was acquitted of child pornography charges at a 2008 trial in Illinois. He last released a studio album in 2016. Kelly`s career stalled following the Lifetime documentary and the latest charges.

Prosecutor calls R Kelly a 'predator' as sex abuse trial, testimony begin

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R Kelly accuser says she saw a nearby gun while forced to have oral sex

Prosecutor calls R Kelly a 'predator' as sex abuse trial, testimony begin