R. Kelly‘s sex trafficking trial continued Monday, with a woman who claimed to be one of his live-in girlfriends testifying that the singer gave her herpes and forced her to get an abortion.
One woman, identified as Jane Doe #5, testified that she became involved with the 54-year-old singer, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, in 2015, when she was 17 and an aspiring singer. She claimed their relationship lasted five years.
Billboard reports the woman said she met Kelly at one of his concerts and he coerced her into a sexual relationship after inviting her to “audition” for him. Jane Doe claimed he knowingly gave her herpes, a sexually transmitted disease. Kelly’s physician testified Thursday that the singer has had herpes since 2007.
Other claims from the witness include her being forced to get an abortion in 2017 when she allegedly became pregnant with Kelly’s child, along with various accusations of physical and mental abuse — including being left in a room for three to four days and having Kelly control nearly every aspect of her body.
Jane Doe also spoke about Kelly’s controversial marriage to Aaliyah, who was 15 when the two secretly wed. She claims that Kelly told another live-in girlfriend that he impregnated the “Try Again” singer and that the two needed to be married to obtain an abortion.
Kelly faces state and federal charges for sex trafficking, racketeering, coercion and other charges related to the alleged abuse and exploitation of six women — three of whom were underage at the time — over the course of 25 years. Three of those women are scheduled to testify during the trial.
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