Prosecutors relaxation case in opposition to R. Kelly after month of testimony By Reuters

By Tyler Clifford

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. prosecutors on Monday rested their intercourse trafficking case in opposition to R. Kelly, after a month of typically disturbing and graphic testimony from individuals who accused the R&B singer of sexually abusing girls and women.

The prosecution’s case in Brooklyn federal courtroom concluded with testimony from a scientific psychologist who had taken the stand on Friday.

Kelly’s lawyer Calvin Scholar started the protection with a musical artist who stated he has recognized the singer since about 2005, viewing him as a mentor who would let him “observe, be taught and grow to be,” and had by no means seen illicit exercise towards the alleged victims.

The witness, who performs beneath the title Da-Ni, additionally stated he was by no means requested by Kelly to have intercourse with Kelly’s girlfriends.

A prosecutor, Maria Cruz Melendez, tried on cross-examination to indicate the witness was not that near Kelly and needed to remain on Kelly’s good aspect to advance his personal music profession, which by no means materialized.

Kelly, whose full title is Robert Sylvester Kelly, has pleaded not responsible to 1 depend of racketeering and eight counts of illegally transporting individuals throughout state traces for prostitution.

Prosecutors have accused the 54-year-old Kelly of grooming and preying on girls and women way back to the mid-Nineties, when his music together with the 1996 Grammy-winning tune “I Imagine I Can Fly” propelled him to fame.

His alleged victims embrace the singer Aaliyah, who was 15 when Kelly married her illegally in 1994. The wedding was later annulled, and Aaliyah died in a 2001 aircraft crash.

For the reason that trial started on Aug. 18, jurors have heard testimony from dozens of girls and former workers who stated Kelly maintained tightfisted management over his entourage.

A number of witnesses have stated Kelly grew to become offended if individuals broke “Rob’s guidelines,” equivalent to needing permission to go to the toilet or speak with others, and pressed accusers to write down “apology letters” to probably absolve him from wrongdoing.

Witnesses have accused Kelly of failing to inform them previous to intercourse that he had the sexually transmitted illness herpes.

Protection legal professionals have tried to painting Kelly’s accusers as followers who felt jilted after being unable to capitalize on the singer’s fame.

They’ve additionally questioned why accusers and former workers failed to go away Kelly sooner or go to the police, and waited years to return ahead.

A half-dozen witnesses might testify for the protection.

Scrutiny of Kelly elevated after the #MeToo motion started in late 2017, and Lifetime aired the documentary “Surviving R. Kelly” in January 2019.

Kelly nonetheless faces sex-related prices in Illinois and Minnesota, whatever the final result of the Brooklyn trial.