Aaliyah’s Uncle Says R. Kelly ‘Wouldn’t Have to Worry About a Trial’ If He’d Known of Abuse

Barry Hankerson says that if he had known about R. Kelly’s sex abuse he would’ve taken matters into his own hands.

via NYDN:

Barry Hankerson, who was Kelly’s manager in the 1990s, introduced his niece to the R&B superstar in Detroit — when Aaliyah was just 13 years old. Hankerson told the Daily News in an exclusive interview one day after Kelly was found guiltyof a sick sex abuse scheme that he was totally unaware the singer was a predator.

“If I had known what Robert Kelly was doing, Robert Kelly would not have to worry about a trial,” Hankerson told The News. “I can’t say what would have happened, but there wouldn’t have been a trial if I had known about any of the things he was trying to do to my niece.”

The record producer declined to elaborate on what he might have done had he known about Kelly’s illegal marriage to Aaliyah when she was 15 and he was 27. Testimony at trial featured disturbing descriptions of Kelly’s sexual exploitation of the rising musical star.

Kelly, 54, was convicted on all nine counts, including racketeering and other sex crimes, in Brooklyn Federal Court.

Hankerson introduced the duo at Aaliyah’s family home in Detroit in 1992. R. Kelly played piano for Aaliyah and her family. She then performed for Kelly, showing signs of the talent that would soon make her famous.

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“Aaliyah was kind of shy,” Kelly’s former tour manager Demetrius Smith testified at trial. Still, Kelly was impressed.

”He thought she had something special,” Smith said.

Hankerson, 74, did not take the stand. He says he previously spoke to the feds about his relationship with Kelly and his niece, but described the sit-downs as “cursory.”

“I was not one of their witnesses, obviously. They never pushed that issue at me. They were very polite,” he said.

Kelly actively kept Hankerson in the dark about his relationship with Aaliyah.

After saying in 1994 that “Aaliyah was in trouble,” Kelly instructed Smith “Don’t call Barry,” according to testimony.

At the time, Kelly believed Aaliyah was pregnant with his child.

The trial came amid a reexamination of how society viewed Kelly, who projected a hypersexual image in his music. He produced Aaliyah’s debut album, “Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number.”

Aaliyah’s music was finally released on streaming apps in the middle of Kelly’s trial. But Hankerson told The News that the timing was a coincidence.

“The public wanted the music. They were clamoring for her music so we decided to put it out once it was organized,” he said. “It just happened to happen when it did.”

Hankerson was still mulling over his thoughts on the verdict against Kelly, who he hasn’t in three decades.

“I really haven’t really made a decision on what my reaction is to the verdict,” he said. “I think justice was served, that’s about it.”

Many of the singer’s victims were elated by the verdict.

“Instead of being mad at me for ‘bringing Black man down,’ be happy that I’m protecting Black girls from predators like him. You’re welcome!” Jerhonda Pace, 28, wrote on her Instagram Tuesday.

Are we to believe Barry had no idea what was going on between his niece and R. Kelly? Come on now…