R. Kelly
Singer R. Kelly abused a 17-year-old boy almost 15 years ago, prosecutors alleged in Brooklyn federal court. Authorities included the allegation in their motion on Friday to admit uncharged acts into evidence at trial.
Kelly is charged in New York and Illinois courts as a prolific abuser of women and girls.
According to prosecutors, the defendant met the boy–identified as John Doe #1–in December 2006 at a McDonald’s and invited him to a party at the singer’s Chicago home. The 17-year-old went to the party with his mother and stepfather, and Kelly told him to come next time without them, authorities said.
“Thereafter, Kelly invited John Doe #1 into his studio under the guise of helping and mentoring John Doe #1 with his musical aspirations,” prosecutors wrote. “Kelly also asked John Doe #1 what he was willing to do to succeed in the music business and clarified that he wanted John Doe #1 to engage in sexual contact with Kelly.”
Kelly allegedly had “sexual contact” with the boy. He urged him to have “sexual contact” with other people and recorded those encounters, authorities said. Prosecutors claim they can corroborate his relationship with the teen by citing telephone records. From court documents:
In or about December 2006, Kelly met John Doe #1, a 17-year-old boy and an individual whose identity is known to the government, at a local McDonalds and invited him to attend a party at his residence in Chicago, Illinois. John Doe #1, along with his mother and stepfather, attended the party. When Kelly saw John Doe #1 with his family members, Kelly advised him to come without them to the next gathering. Thereafter, Kelly invited John Doe #1 into his studio under the guise of helping and mentoring John Doe #1 with his musical aspirations. Kelly also asked John Doe #1 what he was willing to do to succeed in the music business and clarified that he wanted John Doe #1 to engage in sexual contact with Kelly. With that backdrop, Kelly then engaged in sexual contact with John Doe #1, in violation of Illinois law. John Doe #1 thereafter introduced Kelly to, among others, John Doe #2, a close male friend who was then 16 or 17 years old and whose identity is known to the government, and Kelly sought to establish a sexual relationship with John Doe #2. (Several years later, Kelly started a sexual relationship with John Doe #2 and required his girlfriends, including Jane Doe #5, to have sex with John Doe #2 upon his command and often filmed those encounters. Kelly sometimes paid John Doe #2 after sexual encounters with him.) Kelly also directed John Doe #1 and others to engage in sexual contact with each other and filmed those encounters. Telephone records corroborate Kelly’s relationship with John Doe #1 and John Doe #2, beginning when both were 17 years old. John Doe #1 also introduced Kelly to girlfriends of John Doe #1.
Kelly has emphatically denied claims of abuse and is fighting the ongoing criminal charges. He was acquitted in a 2008 in a child pornography case, but prosecutors say he even met one of his victims at the trial.
Many allegations involved him preying on women and girls, and using his position to control their lives. That domineering element was covered in the docuseries Surviving R. Kelly. The filing includes apparent reference to a charge in which he allegedly bribed an Illinois official in 1994 to get fake ID for protégé, then-15-year-old singer Aaliyah Haughton. From the filing on Friday:
When Kelly met Jane Doe #1, she was a minor and the niece of his manager at the time. At the time, Jane Doe #1 was a promising young singer and Kelly thereafter began to write and produce music for Jane Doe #1. While Jane Doe #1 was still a minor, Kelly began a sexual relationship with her and, in August 1994, when Jane Doe #1 was 15 years old, Kelly believed Jane Doe #1 had become pregnant. As a result, in an effort to shield himself from criminal charges related to his illegal sexual relationship with Jane Doe #1, Kelly arranged to secretly marry her to prevent her from being compelled to testify against him in the future. Given Jane Doe #1’s age, the bribery charged in Racketeering Act One was necessary to effectuate the marriage.
You can read the full filing below:
[Image via Antonio Perez – Pool via Getty Images]