BY: Denver Sean
Published 3 years ago
R. Kelly’s trial is ongoing and each day we learn more and more about what a terror he truly was.
According to Wednesday’s hearing, R. Kelly’s 25-year pattern of sexual abuse took no breaks — not even after his illegal, secret wedding to 15-year-old singer Aaliyah in 1994.
via NYP:
Just three days after his Aug. 30, 1994 Sheraton Hotel shotgun wedding to “Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number” singer Aaliyah — whom Kelly believed was pregnant with his child — he raped another underage girl backstage, prosecutors reminded the jury.
“It didn’t change after he married Aaliyah,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Geddes during her summation at the six-week Brooklyn Federal Court trial.
“In fact, he didn’t skip a beat.”
On Sept. 2, 1994 after returning to the Southern leg of his tour, Kelly allegedly forced himself on a 17-year-old name Addie, whom he had invited backstage with her friend after a show.
Prosecutors entwined Aaliyah and Addie’s experiences with the “Sex Me” singer during their broad closing statement at Kelly’s sex trafficking trial.
Born Robert Sylvester Kelly, 54, the Chicago native is accused of trafficking women and girls for illegal sexual activity. He and his crew allegedly targeted women, fans at his concerts.
“He groomed girls and boys for sexual activity despite the fact that they were too young to consent to that sexual activity,” Geddes told jurors.
She outlined Kelly’s modus operandi of recording sexual encounters — sometimes with underage girls — and threatening employees and victims. She also detailed his method of forcing girlfriends and members of his entourage to write “collateral” letters where they admitted to stealing from him. He kept the letters, which prosecutors say he hoped would keep victims quiet, in a safe in a storage unit.
“He intended to use the letters in the future… for a day like this,” Geddes explained.
Closings came after Kelly said Wednesday that he would not take the stand in his defense.
The disgraced singer quietly told Judge Ann Donnelly that he consulted with his lawyers and made the decision.
“And is it your decision not to testify?” Donnelly asked, while the jury was out of the room.
“Yes, ma’am,” Kelly responded.
Kelly’s defense team presented a brief case earlier this week, with the singer’s employees who claimed they never saw him hit women or lock them in rooms.
More than 10 accusers, however, who took the stand accused him of berating them physically and verbally and recording videos of sexual encounters without their consent. Some of the victims were underage when they began sexual relationships with Kelly.
One of the first people to testify was a woman, who met R. Kelly at his 2008 child porn trial in Chicago. She was 16-years-old when she began having sex with Kelly, she said under oath.
He is also accused of knowingly giving herpes to some of his victims, which is a crime in some states.
Federal prosecutors began their closing arguments Wednesday afternoon and will continue Thursday morning.
At this point, let’s just get to the convictions and the sentencing — we know he’s guilty.