R. Kelly's name has been littered through the headlines in recent weeks as the embattled singer's Chicago federal trial continues. The most recent update from the courtroom was shared in the Chicago Tribune and details testimony from two accusers, who claim that the R&B star videotaped them having sex as minors.
The first witness earlier today (August 29), was a 37-year-old testifying under "Pauline" as a pseudonym. Pauline was reportedly best friends with Kelly's goddaughter, "Jane," and around age 14, she went looking for her friend at the singer's home, where she found Jane "naked, kneeling in front of Kelly."
R. Kelly attends court in 2019 -- Pool/Getty Images
"He told me he was just looking for bruises on her, because she hurt herself," Pauline recalled. "I told him that ‘That’s not how you look for bruises’ and he said that’s how he looked for bruises... then he stated that 'We all have secrets.'"
R. Kelly was in the room for the testimony, dressed in a dark blue suit. Reports say he "kept his head down, sometimes shaking it back and forth as she’s talked about things he allegedly said to her about 'secrets.'"
According to Pauline, the 55-year-old insisted she engage in sexual activity with him and Jane. Eventually hooking up became a regular occurrence for the three of them – "dozens or maybe hundreds of times" from age 14 to 16 – after Kelly provided them with alcohol.
"He had tripods and cameras in the room," Pauline shared when explaining Kelly's interest in taping his sexual interactions, adding that he stored them in a gym bag, and would record his threesomes with Pauline and another girl, "Brittany."
Though things were troubling, Pauline remained in a relationship with Kelly into her adulthood. At age 20, she posed as Brittany and made a call to the father of three's studio in search of money.
"Well, he called it extortion, I called it 'Don’t play with me,'" Pauline told the jury. "Girls get mad and say stupid stuff and want to slap you or bust your car windows out. It was just a threat. He knew that. If he didn’t know that he wouldn’t have had me around all these years."
Despite the drama, Pauline said that she still has affection in her heart for her alleged abuser. "I loved him and I still love him. In a weird way, I know you might judge me, but it’s like best friend meets boyfriend meets dad."
Read attorney Jennifer Bonjean's cross-examination here, and tap back in with HNHH later for more updates from R. Kelly's trial.
[Via]
