R. Kelly Trial: ‘Somewhat Upsetting’ Video Put Into Evidence; Ex-Aide Shared Texts On Mistreatment Of ‘Girlfriends’
During the ongoing federal criminal trial of embattled singer R. Kelly, prosecutors on Wednesday (Sept. 15) asked questions about letters, texts and videos that were recovered by investigators recovered from his Trump Tower residence in Chicago and a storage facility.
Special Agent Ryan Chabot testified about the evidence which included apologetic letters written to Kelly from alleged victims that were described as “disrespectful” behavior and stealing. Also included in the evidence were videos which were described by U.S. District Judge Ann M. Donnelly as “somewhat upsetting.” and were published to jury audio, but that media could not see or hear.
In testimony from Tuesday, one of Kelly’s former personal assistants testified Tuesday (September 14) about text messages she wrote about how the disgraced singer mistreated his “girlfriends.”
In one message, Aliciette Mayweather texted that the singer’s girlfriend, a Florida high school student identified as “Jane,” should escape,” Insider reported.
"When she gets to Florida she should NEVER come back. She should be living the life of a 18-year-old high school senior," Mayweather said, reading dozens of other texts she sent to her boss and other coworkers.
Mayweather revealed her concerns about Jane in May 2016 when she was supervising the teenager for Kelly. Jane had slept overnight in a tour bus and “looked rough” with “puffy” eyes, Mayweather texted one of Kelly’s other employees.
Prosecutors have charged the R&B star with leading a “criminal enterprise” to contract employees to procure young women and girls for sex and pornography. The charges involved six alleged victims who were unidentified in court filings.
During the trial, which is being held in a Brooklyn courtroom, jurors heard disturbing testimony that accused Kelly of sexual abuse and humiliation. He allegedly controlled the young women in a cult-like environment in which he punished them for breaking his rules.
Part of the prosecutor’s case against Kelly depends on former employees validating the testimony of his accusers, The New York Times reported. Some of them have corroborated specific instances of abuse the young women and girls testified to, sometimes reluctantly because they appeared loyal to their former boss.
Also on Tuesday, Nicholas Williams, a former Kelly employee who answered phones at the singer’s Chicago studios, testified that the singer often ordered “blackout periods,” the newspaper reported. That meant that staff was banned from coming upstairs while Kelly entertained “very young” female guests.
With reporting from CBS News.
