NEW YORK — A former employee of R&B superstar R. Kelly testified Friday that working for the singer was far stranger than others gigs with artists such as Kanye West, Jay-Z and Taylor Swift.
Anthony Navarro, who worked for Kelly at his mansion in the Chicago suburbs between 2008 and 2009, told jurors that his experience working for Kelly was unlike any other music industry job.
“It was almost like the Twilight Zone. Once you went into the gate ... It’s just a strange place,” Navarro testified.
“It was a weird time for me. The things that you had to do was just a bit uncomfortable,” he said.
Navarro was subpoenaed to testify by federal prosecutors in Kelly’s sex trafficking trial.
As a music production worker and assistant, he handled many chores around Kelly’s massive complex in Olympia Fields, Illinois. He said he drove young women to and from the airport, cleaned the house and picked up food.
Young women staying in the mansion would call down to Navarro in the studio for food. Before he could go buy their orders, Navarro had to request permission from Kelly or one of his managers, he testified.
On top of that, he was not allowed to speak to any young women that Kelly had as guests.
“That’s one of Rob’s rules for us,” he said. “They had to get permission to do most things.”
The young women also had to remain where Kelly wanted them in the house, Navarro testified.
“The general rule was, if they’re not where they’re supposed to be, you’d have to call Rob or a manager,” he said.
Navarro testified that he never saw anyone having sex in the house.
His testimony comes during the monthlong sex trafficking trial of the “I Believe I Can Fly” singer, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, 54.
Kelly is accused of trafficking women and girls for illegal sexual activity. Kelly is also charged with knowingly giving herpes to some of his victims, which is a crime in certain states.
One of Kelly’s underage victims, Jerhonda Pace, who said she had a six-month sexual relationship with the singer when she was just 16, testified Thursday about how Kelly forced her to wear pigtails and dress up like a Girl Scout for sex that he recorded.
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