Testimony Starts In Latest R Kelly Trial

For the first timed in two decades of swirling allegations, R Kelly's former goddaughter took the stand Thursday as a prosecution witness in a case against the disgraced singer, reports The Chicago Tribune.

The woman, now 37, testified at Kelly's federal trial in Chicago under the pseudonym 'Jane'.  Dressed in a white blazer with her hair in long braids, Jane took the jury through a harrowing tale of alleged grooming, sexual abuse, and cover-up, beginning when she first had sexual contact with Kelly at just 14.

She remained composed for much of her time on the stand, testifying in a soft but matter-of-fact tone about how she came into Kelly’s orbit and how their mutual love of music and basketball sparked a friendship despite the age gap.

R Kelly

But Jane’s voice grew quieter and began to break as she was asked to describe sexual encounters that Kelly recorded, including the now-infamous tape at the center of Kelly’s 2008 trial.

One of the videos, which are expected to be played for jurors, showed Jane and Kelly having oral sex in the living room of his Lakeview home, she said. He could be seen giving her champagne and telling her to refer to her genitalia as 14 years old, she said. Then he urinated on her, she said in a voice almost too soft to hear, dabbing tears from her eyes.

Their sex acts escalated to intercourse when she was 15, she said. Asked how she knew her exact age, Jane calmly responded, “Because that’s when I lost my virginity.”
After that, they had sex “innumerable times,” sometimes along with other teenage girls whom Jane recruited at Kelly’s request, she said.

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 from 5 to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors are also seeking a personal money forfeiture of $1.5 million from Kelly.