Alleged Child Sex Tape Victim Testifies Against R. Kelly
A 37-year-old woman identified only as “Jane” testified four four hours against R. Kelly today in Chicago’s federal courthouse. For the first time, she confirmed publicly that she had appeared on the tape at the center of Kelly’s 2008 child pornography trial. The tape, which surfaced in 2002, depicted Kelly sexually abusing an underage girl.
In 2008, Jane declined to testify and the jury found Kelly not guilty. Now, federal prosecutors say that Kelly intimidated the woman and her family into denying any abuse had taken place.
Now, as the Chicago Sun Times reports, Jane has described how Kelly abused her “uncountable… hundreds” of times after she asked him to be her godfather. She also said that the abuse started when she was 14. Kelly was in his 30s at the time. Jane confirmed that she appears in three videos presented in Kelly’s current trial.
Kelly is currently serving a 30-year federal prison sentence after being convicted of racketeering last year in New York. This latest trial is his third. He faces charges alleging child pornography, obstruction of justice, and the enticement of minors into criminal sexual activity.
Jane is one of five alleged victims in the ongoing case. When asked why she had decided to come forward now, she said, “I became exhausted with living with his lies.”