Share this @internewscast.com

NEW YORK — One of R. Kelly’s former employees testified in court on Friday that the singer threatened her and pressured her into supporting him when an underage female singer sued him for sexual harassment. 

“He said generally in these situations people come up missing,” Cheryl Mack recalled Kelly telling her around 2009. Mack first met Kelly in 2005 when she was a talent manager; she officially worked for him from 2013 to 2015.

Mack said she connected Kelly with an up-and-coming 17-year-old artist, who was identified in court as “Precious.” The two artists began collaborating together at Kelly’s home and studio in Olympia Fields, Illinois. During this time, Precious moved from Atlanta to a hotel near Kelly’s home, Mack testified. 

At one point, Precious abruptly stopped working with Kelly. “It was all sudden. … When she left, everything happened so fast,” Mack recalled through tears. Mack said Kelly directed her to immediately get on a flight and meet him at his Olympia Fields home, which she did. 

“He told me she was trying to file a lawsuit and I needed to pick a team: ‘Either team Precious or team Mr. Kelly,’” Mack said of her conversation with Kelly once she arrived in Chicago. Mack said she remembers that the lawsuit related to “something along the lines of sexual harassment.”

That’s when Kelly told her people tend to “go missing” in situations like this, Mack said on the stand. When asked how she interpreted Kelly’s comment, Mack responded: “I took it as a threat.” 

A courtroom sketch shows assistant U.S. Attorney Nadia Shihata questioning Cheryl Mack on Friday. 



A courtroom sketch shows assistant U.S. Attorney Nadia Shihata questioning Cheryl Mack on Friday. 

Mack said Kelly’s studio manager at the time, Tom Arnold, who testified earlier in the trial, drove her to Kelly’s attorney’s office in downtown Chicago. Once there, she was presented with an affidavit that had already been written, Mack testified. The statement included yes-or-no questions about whether Mack had ever seen Kelly give Precious alcohol or if she had seen the two engage in any sexual activity.

Mack said she didn’t recall how she answered the questions. She also said she did not read the whole statement but eventually signed the affidavit because she wanted to get out of there.

Nearly four years later, Mack reconnected with Kelly and began formally working as his executive assistant. Her role included booking travel for Kelly’s guests, including many of his underage girlfriends, as well as managing his tour dates. Mack said she booked travel for a Jane Doe, who testified earlier in the trial, when Doe was still a minor. She quit the job in 2015. 

Mack was the 45th witness to take the stand in Kelly’s criminal trial, which started late last month in Brooklyn, New York. Eleven accusers have testified for the prosecution, with many alleging that Kelly was physically, emotionally and sexually abusive. 

Kelly is facing four counts of violating the Mann Act, which prohibits taking minors across state lines for the purpose of prostitution, and one count of racketeering. Prosecutors hope to show that Kelly and his entourage acted like a criminal enterprise, using the singer’s fame and power to recruit underage girls and boys so that Kelly could abuse them. 

Prosecution is expected to rest Friday afternoon, and defense will likely rest sometime next week. Closing arguments are expected to happen after that. 

Source: huffpost

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Kidnapper Who Abandoned Girl in Woods Receives Sentence

Background: The public entry to the Anchorage Correctional Complex on Wednesday, May…

Released Suspect Detained Again for Mop Handle Assault on Store Clerk

Staff report GAINESVILLE, Fla. – D’Andre Vanshon Jemel Anderson, 29, was taken…

Teenager, 18, Detained on Suspicion of Attempted Murder

Staff report GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Kelvin Tay’sean Baker, 18, was taken into…

NSW Police Officer Assaulted During Welfare Check

A man is in custody after two female police officers were allegedly…

Two Teens Face Charges Following Alleged Joyride Across Four Sydney Suburbs

Two teenagers have been charged after a police pursuit through Sydney‘s west.…

Prisoner Accused of Fatally Shooting Guard with Guard’s Gun at Clinic

Left: Kelvin Simmons (Buncombe County Sheriff”s Office) Right: Francisco Flattes (Cherokee County…

Mom Allegedly Got High While Fire Claimed Her Children: Police Report

Background: The 1800 block of Cantwell Court in Raleigh, North Carolina, in…

Teen Tried as Adult in Failed Marijuana Robbery That Ended in Murder

A 16-year-old boy from Indiana is facing adult charges of murder following…

Tragic Hit-and-Run at Fireworks Show Claims Life of 3-Year-Old Boy

Background: The location of the accident at Lyndon Street and Merriman Road…

Young Boy Captures Father’s Shooting in Road Rage Incident: Authorities Report

Inset: Dustin Jackson (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The location of the…

Intoxicated Driver in Michigan Hits Family Departing Festival, Resulting in the Death of a 3-Year-Old and Injuries to Twin Sister: Police Report

A woman from Michigan, who was driving on a suspended license, reportedly…

Teen Arrested in Connection with Fatal Stabbing of Western Australia Father

Tawhai Walker Loughlin turned 18 just two months ago but could now…