One of R Kelly’s accusers has alleged that the singer had a “weapon” by his side while he sexually assaulted her as an overture to forcing her to give him oral sex.
“He had a weapon, so I wasn’t going to step out of line,” the witness said during her testimony at the R&B singer's New York City sex-trafficking trial.
Kelly has been charged with racketeering “predicated on criminal conduct including sexual exploitation of children, kidnapping, forced labor and Mann Act violations involving the coercion and transportation of women and girls in interstate commerce to engage in illegal sexual activity”.
While recounting the 2018 episode, the victim said that she spotted the gun when the 54-year-old singer asked her not to look at it.
He also instructed her to act “excited like a puppy” whenever she saw him, adding: “I still have a lot to teach you.”
This testimony comes after several days of revelations from women alleging they were groomed and sexually abused by Kelly. In fact, a man also took the witness stand to say the R&B star allegedly exploited him after asking “what [he] was willing to do for music”.
Kelly appeared in court on Wednesday (18 August) as opening statements were made in a case involving decades of alleged sexual abuse carried out by the “I believe I can fly” singer during the height of his fame.
The “Bump n’ Grind” singer has pleaded not guilty and repeatedly denied accusations that he preyed on victims during a 30-year career.
If convicted on all counts, he faces 10 years to life imprisonment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
