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Woman weeps while testifying against R. Kelly about assault

R Kelly Trial
Posted at 5:50 PM, Aug 19, 2021
and last updated 2021-08-19 17:50:58-04

NEW YORK (AP) — A key accuser at the R. Kelly sex-trafficking trial has resumed testimony, weeping when she was asked to read from a journal entry describing how he allegedly beat and choked her the last time they were together.

Jerhonda Pace is the first government witness.

She told jurors in Brooklyn federal court on Wednesday that she was a 16-year-old virgin and a Kelly's fan club member when he invited her to his mansion in 2010.

On Thursday, she testified that he sometimes videotaped their sexual encounters and demanded she wear pigtails and dress like a Girl Scout.

The singer is facing an anonymous jury made up of seven men and five women, who were sworn in last week.

Prosecutors allege that Kelly led an enterprise made up of his managers, bodyguards, and other employees who helped him recruit women and girls for sex.

Kelly rose to fame in the late '80s and early '90s, but he's most known for "I Believe I Can Fly,” a song that accompanied the movie "Space Jam."

The 54-year-old Kelly has denied any wrongdoing.