R. Kelly trial: Physician confirms singer has been receiving STD treatment for decades

R. Kelly is being accused of having unprotected sex with two partners without informing them that he had contracted herpes. This violates public health laws which mandates individuals to let their partners know if they have an infectious venereal disease.

Strong testimony

While R. Kelly has been repeatedly denying all charges against him, his physician solidified the allegations in yesterday's (19 August) hearing. Kris McGrath, a physician specialising in internal medicine and a faculty member at Northwestern University, had been treating the singer since 1994. All his notes were also summoned and presented in the courtroom.

Insider revealed that Kelly initially came to McGrath with a ‘concern about chlamydia.’ He was also struggling with pain in his genitals, so the physician ordered a test for both chlamydia and gonorrhoea. The singer tested negative for chlamydia, but positive for the latter. McGrath said that he wanted to order other tests, but Kelly refused for personal reasons.

In June 2000, Kelly complained that he had blisters and pain in his genitals. He assumed it was because he wore leather pants without underwear for a shoot, but McGrath suspected that it could be herpes. Although the herpes culture test came back negative, false negative results are common as the test is time-sensitive. He said in court:

I did not conclude that he did not have herpes.

Multiple outbreaks of herpes

Later on, he diagnosed Kelly with herpes and advised Kelly to inform his partners about his STI. He said he told the singer to:

Inform your sexual partners so they can make a decision whether or not to have sex with you.

Kelly was then prescribed Valtrex, a drug used to treat the virus. Usually the medication is used for short-term treatments but individuals who experience multiple outbreaks in a year are recommended to take them on a daily basis. McGrath said Kelly was responding to the drug well, and his associates would frequently call him for refills. He added:

It was so often that I had memorised the number to that Walgreens.

On Wednesday,Jerhonda Pace, the first accuser, disclosed that she had also gotten herpes during the relationship. She said that Kelly never told her about his medical condition and she got treated privately by a doctor in his home.