On Monday, R. Kelly’s trial recommenced with an explosive testimony from one of the singer’s male victims. A man, who went under the alias ‘Louis,’ first met the celebrity when he was just 17 and had a relationship with him for 10 years.
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First male accuser
The witness, who was also an aspiring rapper, said that Kelly lured him into his life with promises to help him make it big in the music industry. The two first met in 2006, when singer and his driver pulled up into the drive-thru that he was working in and handed him Kelly’s number. Louis and his mother made contact with the star and their family was invited to a party held at his residence. Shortly after, Kelly suggested that Louis could also attend parties by himself.
The witness testified that on one occasion, when he was still 17, Kelly asked him what he could do for music. Louis recounted in court:
He asked me what I was willing to do for music.
He then went on to unzip his pants and perform oral sex on Louis. He continued:
I wasn't into it and I was not getting a reaction, so he had stopped.
He had told me to keep it between me and him.
That was the start of a string of sexual encounters that he had with Kelly, but the CNN reports that it is still unsure which incidents took place when he was a minor. Furthermore, the victim claims that many had been digitally recorded.
Despite the non consensual sexual incidents, Louis continued to maintain a relationship in hopes that it would help his career. Similar to the experiences of other women, Kelly also told the male witness that they were now 'family' and asked him to address him as 'daddy.'
Working with the prosecution
In 2010, Louis himself was arrested on one account of attempted bribery as he tried to persuade a witness to stop working on the case against Kelly. He said:
I was trying to help that person, I was trying to help myself as well.
I was going to get a certain part of the money and I thought that person might have some tapes on me as well.
Louis pleaded guilty of the charge and has been cooperating with the prosecution in the case. According to CNN, he currently faces a 15-year sentence, but prosecutors will be demanding that he get minimal to no prison time.
