R. Kelly’s first male accuser has testified at the singer’s sex crimes trial, alleging he sexually abused him as a teen.
The witness identified as Louis took the stand in Brooklyn, New York on Monday (August 30) and claimed Kelly abused him when he was 17 after they met at a McDonald’s restaurant in 2006 and swapped phone numbers.
The accuser told the court he attended several parties at R. Kelly’s Illinois home and worked on music in the singer’s studio, but their friendship allegedly turned sexual one night when the R&B star quizzed his protege about his fantasies and then performed oral sex on Louis.
He claimed he told Kelly he “wasn’t into it”, and the I Believe I Can Fly singer stopped, telling the youngster, “Keep it between me and him. We’re family now. We’re brothers.”
Louis continued to attend Kelly’s parties, and claimed the hitmaker would record their sexual encounters and once made him engage in a sex act with a stranger while he watched.
He then confessed he had been arrested for trying to bribe a potential witness against R. Kelly and was testifying as part of a plea deal.
A woman named Addie also testified against Kelly on Monday, accusing the singer of sexually assaulting her backstage at a concert in 1994, when she was 17.
After convincing the witness and a friend to come to his hotel room and audition for him, she claimed he kissed both of them and then “started getting a little more aggressive,” holding her wrists and tearing off her clothes before having unprotected sex with her.
She urged her friend not to report the singer to the police because she didn’t want to be “victim-shamed.”
Kelly has been charged with a series of sex crimes and faces 10 years to life in prison if he is found guilty on all counts.
He has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to all of the charges in this case. He is also concurrently facing other sex-related charges in Illinois and Minnesota. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges too.