Mother of Victim Says R Kelly Made Threats

A mother whose young daughter was allegedly sexually assaulted by R. Kelly on videotape in the 1990s testified Monday that Kelly threatened them and sent them out of town after the allegations of abuse first surfaced more than 20 years ago, reports The Chicago Tribune.

The woman, who is using the pseudonym “Susan,” echoed some of the explosive claims her daughter “Jane” made in court last week, a watershed moment in the R. Kelly saga after years of denying any sexual misconduct by the R&B superstar.

But Susan’s testimony, unlike Jane’s, was disjointed and confusing at times, and she contradicted her daughter on a few key points. She was also visibly nervous, frowning and fidgeting on the stand, while Jane remained composed.

Susan testified that she and her husband met with Kelly and his business manager, Derrel McDavid, at a hotel in Oak Park to discuss reports that Kelly was having sex with Jane, who was 14 at the time.

Susan said Kelly “never admitted” directly having sexual relations with Jane at the meeting, “But he was just saying he was sorry and he was crying.”

“I was bawling and crying,” Susan said, adding that Kelly and McDavid said that the family “needed to leave town right away.”

Kelly also made what Susan interpreted as a threat to the family’s safety: “Are you with us or are you not?”

“They were going to harm us if we didn’t do what they told us to do,” Susan said. “We were fearful ... we packed our bags, and we left town.”

The testimony came as the second week of Kelly’s federal child-pornography trial got underway at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago, where Kelly, McDavid, and another former associate, Milton “June” Brown, are accused of conspiring to pay off victims and witnesses and collect videotapes Kelly allegedly made of himself sexually abusing underage girls.

Kelly, 55, is charged with 13 counts of production of child pornography, conspiracy to produce child pornography and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Some of the counts carry a mandatory minimum of 10 years behind bars if convicted, while others have ranges of five to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors are also seeking a personal money forfeiture of $1.5 million from Kelly.

The trial is expected to last at least through mid-September, and jurors are likely to hear from more women who say Kelly had sexual contact with them when they were minors.