After years of being accused of sex crimes and abuse, disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly has finally started his trial in New York City. A second woman recently gave a testimony to the court about the horrific abuse and sex crimes she faced at the hands of Kelly dating back to 2015, when she was just 17.
The woman, who wishes to anonymously go by “Jane,” laid out the accusations of abuse that took place during their five-year relationship, including grooming, sexual assault, and even a forced abortion in 2017. According to a report from NPR, Jane claimed she met the singer in 2015 when she was just 17 (meaning he was 48 at the time), hoping that knowing Kelly would lead him to helping her music career. She was already taking a number of music classes, hoping to score a music scholarship to college, and even landing a number of professional music gigs.
After meeting R. Kelly, Jane claims he pressured her into having sex. “I was against it,” she said in court. “I told him I did not come to please him. He continued to persist.” Jane claimed that afterwards, she was forced to live under Kelly’s “rules,” which included wearing only baggy clothes, not speaking to other men including members of his team, and being forced to stay in her room for days on end.
Read NPR’s full report on R. Kelly’s trial here.