Disgraced R&B superstar R. Kelly sexually abused and dominated his victims — including singer Aaliyah — for more than two decades as the leader of an enterprise made up of his “inner circle” of employees, a federal prosecutor charged Wednesday.
Assistant US Attorney Elizabeth Geddes told jurors that to find Kelly guilty of the racketeering count he is charged with, they have to conclude he grew more powerful and more dangerous because he was part of the enterprise while committing the crimes.
“He was more than just a part of the enterprise. He was its leader,” Geddes said in Brooklyn federal court as the trial came to a close.
The ’90s megastar relied on a cadre of personal assistants, so-called “runners,” security guards and other employees to recruit and transport his victims, whom he sexually abused and, in some cases, created child pornography with, she alleged.
“The network carried out the defendant’s directives, enabled his crimes and those crimes happened over and over again,” Geddes said.
R. Kelly listens as a witness testifies for the defense during Kelly’s sex abuse trial. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg
Kelly is charged with possessing child pornography as well as several allegations of sexual assault. AP Photo/Charles Rex ArbogastAs the leader, Kelly sexually abused six victims, including Aaliyah, who prosecutors allege he illegally wed in the 1990s when she was 15 years old.
Geddes raised testimony from one witness — identified as “Angela” — who told jurors that she once walked in on Kelly abusing Aaliyah when the rising R&B singer was just 13 or 14 years old.
Angela testified she walked in on Kelly and saw “his head in between her legs, performing oral sex on her,” Geddes said.
Singer R. Kelly has decided not to testify after the presiding judge asked him if he wanted to defend himself. ANTONIO PEREZ/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Closing statements in the R. Kelly trial began on Sept. 22, 2021, after the defense presented its last witness. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg
People wait in line to enter the federal courthouse for the R. Kelly trial in Brooklyn. NDZ/STAR MAX/IPxEarlier Wednesday, Kelly said in court that he would not testify in his own defense soon before his attorneys officially rested their case.
After dismissing the jury for a break Wednesday morning, Judge Ann Donnelly asked Kelly if he did not wish to take the witness stand, and the singer responded affirmatively.
“Yes ma’am,” he said.
Earlier Wednesday, the jury heard from what may be the last defense witness of the trial, music consultant Julius Darrington, who worked with Kelly for several years prior to his arrest.
Darrington testified he did not see Kelly abuse women while he worked with him in his Chicago studio and while they traveled across the country for shows — but said during cross-examination that he had no knowledge of what the “I Believe I Can Fly” crooner did while he was not with him.
If convicted, Kelly faces from 10 years to life in prison.
