The 28-year-old woman who accused singer, R. Kelly of sex trafficking, has returned to the witness stand, as she battles it out with the defense team on Thursday, August 19, 2021.
For the past few months “I Believe I Can Fly” singer has gone from bad to worse to bad situations in and out of courtrooms, as allegations pour in from all sides. The 54-year-old has been given his day in court to argue his innocence in front of a judge and jury system.
So far, it doesn’t seem like all is going in his favor as he is facing, more intense charges that could keep him going to court till the end of the year. His recent court case is against one of his accusers by the name of Jerhonda Pace.
She resumed court today, to testify on the alleged horrible acts that Kelly put her through, as well as other ladies that she knew about at the time. Although her stance consistently received backlash from the singer’s attorney, the alleged victim is standing her ground in court to reveal what she swears is the truth.
It’s unclear at this moment what will happen to Kelly if he is found guilty of this new crime, but it’s definitely not going to be a pretty sentence. Keep your fingers crossed on this one as you scroll further to read more details on this new court case.
R. Kelly’s Accuser Takes The Stand
In the early hours of Monday, the accuser, Jerhonda Pace took to the stand in a Brooklyn Federal court, to reveal her side of the story, in an attempt to convince the judge and anonymous jury that Kelly is guilty of the crimes she accused him of.
In her initial statement, she revealed that the “The World’s Greatest” singer occasionally them during sexual encounters, where he would also reportedly ask her to dress like a ‘Girl Scout.’ She went on to say that this lasted for a while from when she was a minor.
Furthermore, she disclosed that she met the singer when she was a 16-year-old virgin and a member of his fan club. Then she noted that she was invited to his mansion one day, an invitation she accepted. On getting to the mansion, Pace said she was given strict rules that were termed ‘Rob’s rules.’ These rules detailed what she could wear when she could use the restroom, and who she could converse with.
In a graphic description of one of the costumes the singer allegedly made her wear, Pace said that she sometimes wore Pigtail or dressed like a ‘Girl Scout,’ to engage in sexual activities that were filmed.
A Counter Response
Per The Bellingham Herald, during the cross-examination, Pace was accused of being a blatant liar, which she rebutted immediately.
The cross-examiner and Kelly’s legal representative, Deveraux Cannick mentioned that Pace had the dates and times that she met with the singer mixed up, which could only mean that she was fabricating the stories to get the defender into trouble with the court.
He also went on to say that she mixed up the dates because when she first met the singer, she lied about her age, and tricked him into believing that she wasn’t a minor. His direct question posed at her attracted a fierce response immediately. He asked; “You were in fact stalking him right?” to which she responded by saying; “That is not right.”
Cannick’s questioning procedure followed the path of the singer’s defense lawyers opening that Kelly was indeed the victim in the situation, as groupies came after him in different fashions and used several schemes to try to get his attention at shows, parties, and tours.
Evidence Presented During Testimony
To further stake a claim on justice for Pace and other survivors, the prosecutors showed the court evidence to prove that Kelly indeed communicated with the accuser in a series of texts when she was 17 years old in 2010.
The messages were submitted into evidence by the prosecutors, and the court accepted it because it came from Pace’s cell phone. The series of messages revealed that the singer indeed spoke to the then 17-year-old, including a message where he wrote “call me.”
Also included in the messages was a photo of Pace’s chest tattooed with the singer’s face, which she revealed she has since covered with a black heart. According to reports, Pace is the first of several women who will take the stand in the coming weeks to disclose their experiences with the singer, and what he made them go through at a young age.
Again, these women according to the law, will be referred to as ‘Jane Doe’s out of the court until they are willing to reveal themselves to the public. Pace’s name is mentioned in this article because she has revealed herself to the media by participating in a documentary and holding publicized interviews.
Where Does R. Kelly Still Stand?
For several months the singer born Robert Sylvester Kelly has maintained that he is innocent of all the accusations laid against him, and is willing to fight through tooth and nail to prove his innocence. In Pace’s case, Kelly denied ever preying on her or any other underage girl during his career that spanned over 30 years.
In 2008 he was found not guilty in a child pornography case in Chicago, and after this, he went right back to his career which got more recognition, but it did not last.
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The #MeToo movement that surfaced again in 2017 caught up with the singer as more women from different states in America accused him of sexually related crimes when they were underage. These accusations intensified when most of these women were interviewed for a documentary called “Surviving R. Kelly.”
Aside from his current case in Brooklyn, the singer is also set to face a judge in Illinois and Minnesota, for sex-related crimes.
