Source: Handout / Getty
UPDATED: 9:00 a.m. ET, Sept. 17
Originally published: Sept. 5
Grammy award-winning R&B singer R. Kelly is facing racketeering and sex trafficking charges that span over three decades. The 59-year-old has been in jail since his 2019 indictment and could spend the rest of his life behind bars. For years, Kelly has had a reputation of exploiting young women, having sex with minors and keeping women locked in his house without food or water. He is now beginning the fourth week of facing a jury of his peers.
Kelly’s trial started on Aug. 18 in Brooklyn, New York, with no media presence allowed in the courtroom. The trial could last as long as two months. Below we’ve summed up each day in timeline form to make it easier for you to catch up.
Members of the media gather outside to attend the trial in the racketeering and sex trafficking case of R. Kelly at Brooklyn Federal Court in Brooklyn, New York on August 18, 2021. | Source: ANGELA WEISS / Getty
MORE: Decades Of Sexual Misconduct Allegations Against R. Kelly
We will be updating this post as the trial continues.
The R. Kelly Trail Timeline:
September 14: U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly has allowed prosecutors to incorporate audio and video evidence of Kelly verbally and physically assaulting his accusers. Prosecutors initially wrote a letter to the judge in order to get the motion approved.
September 9: A former radio station intern accused Kelly of drugging and sexually assaulting her at his Chicago studio in 2003 when she was 21-years-old. She testified that one of Kelly’s workers gave her an explicit threat about any potential retaliation and made her sign a non-disclosure agreement, the New York Daily News reported.
“I was extremely confused. I didn’t know where I was at,” the woman, only identified in court as Sonja, testified under oath. “My underwear were at the end of the couch.” She added that there was “wet stuff between my legs and on my thighs.”
She added: “It made me feel like something happened to me. I know my body. I believe I was touched sexually.”
September 3: A woman testified that R. Kelly paid her $200,000 to settle a lawsuit claiming Kelly gave her an STD. She met the singer when she was 27 and they began a sexual relationship, but Kelly never disclosed he had herpes.
September 1: An unidentified woman testified that R. Kelly kept a gun on him to intimidate her into having a sexual relationship. The woman said she met Kelly when she was 19 and he gave her an STD. When she filed a lawsuit against Kelly for failing to disclose an STD, he threatened to release nude photos of her on the internet.
August 31: An unidentified man testified that when 17-years-old R. Kelly lured him to his Chicago home with promises of helping his rap music career. He said Kelly gave him oral sex and that they continued a secret relationship for the next 10 years. He is the first man publicly accusing Kelly of sexual abuse.
August 26: A woman testified that when she was 17-years old R. Kelly lured her into have unwanted sex by claiming he could help her struggling music career. She also recalled a dinner when Kelly compared himself to Jerry Lee Lewis, the rock and roll legend who married his 13-year-old cousin.
Family members of victim Jocelyn Savage, Timothy Savage (C), Jonjelyn Savage and their daughter Jailyn Savage (L) arrive to attend the trial in the racketeering and sex trafficking case of R. Kelly at Brooklyn Federal Court in Brooklyn, New York on August 18, 2021. | Source: ANGELA WEISS / Getty
August 25: An unidentified woman (Jane Doe), now 23, testified the R. Kelly made her write fake blackmail letters to protect him in a trial if he was ever charged with sexual abuse. She also said Kelly started grooming and exploiting her in 2015 when she was 17-years-old.
August 24: An unidentified woman (Jane Doe) testified that when she was a 17-year-old high school student R. Kelly lured her into his home by offering her a singing audition, then forced her to have sex. She also claimed Kelly slapped her, made her smear feces on her face, and gave her an STD.
August 23: An unidentified woman (Jane Doe) testified that when she was 17-years-old R. Kelly sexually assaulted her on his tour bus and hotel rooms. She claimed Kelly purposely gave her an STD.
Defense attorney Nicole Blank Becker speaks to the media as she arrives to attend the trial in the racketeering and sex trafficking case of R. Kelly at Brooklyn Federal Court in Brooklyn, New York on August 18, 2021. | Source: ANGELA WEISS / Getty
August 20: Ex-employee Anthony Navarro testified that there were girls who would stay at Kelly’s house for long periods and they were not allowed to eat or leave. He also said he never witnessed R. Kelly sexually abuse any victims.
Aug. 19: Jerhonda Pace testified that when she was 16-years-old R. Kelly would make her wear pigtails and dress up like a girl scout during their sexual encounters.
Aug. 18: R. Kelly’s First Day of Trial. U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly ruled that the jurors selected for the trial would be the only members of the public allowed in the courtroom. No media allowed. Judge Donelly also snaps at R. Kelly’s lawyer for tweeting in court.
SEE ALSO:
[ione_media_gallery id=”3847865″ overlay=”true”]
