Thursday was day two of the R. Kelly sex abuse trial, and jurors heard more testimony from the women who brought accusations against the GRAMMY Award winner.
The R&B star faces multiple charges, including sexually exploiting minors and forced labor.
Jerhonda Pace, previously known as Jane Doe #4, took the stand at nine months pregnant and was submitted to hours of cross-examination as the defense tried to poke holes in her story.
Pace’s claim has been that Kelly exposed her to herpes without her knowledge. In what could turn out to be big moment for the defense, during cross, they revealed evidence showing Kelly did tell her about the STD and even examined her for the disease.
Pace told the jury Kelly mentally and physically abused her, making her wait as long as three days to use the bathroom and forcing her to dress up as a Girl Scout when they had sex.
Their sexual relationship began when Pace was only 16, and she says Kelly recorded it.
Defense attorneys trying to poke holes in her story painted her as a crazed fan.
At one point Kelly’s attorney asked the witness, “You were stalking him weren’t you?”
The defense accused Pace of breaking into Kelly‘s home, waiting hours for his autograph and skipping school to support him at a previous trial, which she lied to her mother about.
“Their stories may have changed, their memories have faded and that’s normal, and that’s what the defense is gonna be zeroing in on,” criminal defense attorney Susan Williams said.
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Pace also admitted she’d received two financial settlements from Kelly and had written a book about their relationship, which earned her at least $25,000.
Kelly’s defense accused Pace of lying for financial gain.
Pace fought through tears as she read a journal entry from the day she left Rob, reading, “I went to Rob’s house and Rob called me a silly b****. He slapped me three times and said if I lie to him again it’s not going to be an open hand next time. He spit in my face and mouth. He choked me during an argument. I had sex with him. I had oral sex with him. Then I became fed up with him and came home and confessed.”
Legal experts predict testimonies could take two more weeks, since six women will be speaking out. Then when the prosecution rests, Kelly may take the stand.
An all female lineup of prosecutors remained tight lipped, accompanied by bodyguards, as they made their way into the Brooklyn federal courthouse Thursday.
Kelly’s defense attorney, Nicole Blank Becker, told reporters she is “looking forward to the truth being told.”
(Court sketch)
She argues the six Jane Doe victims named in the trial all pursued the famous singer and knew what they were signing up for when they got involved with him.
On Wednesday, the defense told jurors the victims are vindictive, spiteful copycats of each other’s narratives, who sought revenge and tried to profit off their experience when their relationships with the singer soured.
“The defense will be hammering in on ‘allegations are not a conviction,’ that’s their overriding theme,” Williams said. “What we’re doing here is seeing this a talented artist, very famous, but he’s still facing these very serious allegations that could lead him to the rest of his life in prison.”
When Kelly rose to fame in the 1990s, prosecutors say he was also building a massive crime enterprise, targeting and grooming young boys and girls for his sexual gratification. They say he used bodyguards and other employees to carry out the crimes, including sex trafficking of women and underage girls.
Williams believes prosecutors will continue to call him a “predator.”
“Not just R. Kelly, but members of his entourage. They call it an enterprise, that they were all working together,” she said.
This is the first time one of his accusers has taken the stand in a criminal case. Some allegations span back almost 30 years.
If convicted, Kelly could face 10 years to life in prison.
CBS2’s John Dias contributed to this report.
