R. Kelly Allegedly Forced a Woman to Have Sex as ‘Punishment’

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A second accuser has taken the stand at R. Kelly’s trial—and her searing testimony includes allegations that the R&B hitmaker pressured her into an abortion, gave her herpes, and pushed her into sex with a person named “Nephew.”

The woman, who is identified as Jane Doe 5 in court documents, testified on both Monday and Tuesday in New York court, Vulture reported. She said that she met Kelly when she was just 17 years old and ended up spending five years in a relationship with the singer, who was once best known for hits like “Ignition (Remix)” and is now stands accused of essentially being a mob boss—one whose criminal empire was fueled by his fame and geared towards abusing a stream of girls and women. 

Initially, the woman had hoped that Kelly would help her pursue a singing career. But when they met in April 2015, she said, it was clear that Kelly was more interested in sex, according to the New York Times. Their relationship quickly became sexual; the woman initially told Kelly that she was 18 but, when she revealed her real age in summer 2017, Kelly “laughed in my face,” she said. Then he slapped her, she said.

At 17, she was also diagnosed with herpes, she said, the New York Times reported. The discomfort, she testified, “got to the point I couldn’t physically even walk.”

Kelly would turn her outbreaks into jokes, the woman said. Prosecutors have alleged that Kelly did not disclose his own diagnosis of herpes to his sexual partners.

The woman also testified that she was regularly spanked, to the point of leaving bruises and tearing her skin. Once, she said, Kelly became enraged that she was texting with a friend and beat her with an Air Force 1 shoe, according to Vulture.

“I’m four-11. I was about 98 pounds,” the woman said. “He’s six foot.”

In 2017, she became pregnant, she said. An assistant of Kelly’s took her to get an abortion, which she did not want, according to Vulture.

On another occasion, when the woman broke a rule of Kelly’s, she was instructed to sexually please a person Kelly called “Nephew,” the woman testified, according to HuffPost. Kelly filmed the encounter on an iPad, the New York Times reported.

She never wanted to have sex with Nephew, the woman said. “It was punishment,” she told the courtroom.

Kelly has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and denied ever abusing anyone. Kelly’s legal team has suggested that Kelly’s accusers are lying about their interactions with the singer in an effort to become rich and famous. On Wednesday, one of Kelly’s attorneys said that the woman could have left Kelly if she’d wanted to.

He asked the woman, “After being violated, devastated and outraged, you flew out to meet him?”

R. Kelly’s trial is expected to go on for at least a month.

If you or someone you know needs help, visit the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline by calling 800.656.HOPE. You can also chat online with a trained staff member, who can provide confidential crisis support, at the National Sexual Assault Online Hotline.