Woman testifies R. Kelly trapped her in his studio for days and sexually assaulted her
On Thursday, during the R. Kelly racketeering and sexual abuse trial in New York, a woman testified that the singer locked her in his studio for several days and raped her, according to reports.
The woman, simply identified as Sonja, said the alleged incident took place in 2003 at Kelly’s home studio in Chicago. The studio is also known as the Chocolate Factory. According to her, she was sexually abused by him after she went to the studio as a radio station intern looking for an interview.
During her testimony, Sonja explained that she met R. Kelly at a Utah mall in August 2003. She was a 21-year-old working as an intern at a local radio station looking for her first big celebrity interview. R. Kelly was her big target with hopes that the interview would boost her career. “I thought it would really just kick-start my career,” she told the jury. Sonja alleges that after declining to speak to her at the mall or over the phone, Kelly asked her to visit him in Chicago instead. The singer’s associates arranged and paid for her flight.
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Upon arriving in Chicago, Sonja said she was put off by Kelly’s associates who allegedly photocopied her ID and took down the numbers and contact information of several friends and relatives. One associate, Sonja said, even asked her if she needed a condom, to which Sonja said she replied, “No, I’m not here for that.”
When she arrived at R. Kelly’s home studio, she adds that information on her friends and family was collected. She was also made to sign a confidentiality agreement and given a list of rules. One of which was that she needed to ask permission to eat or use the bathroom. Furthermore, she added that she was locked in the room for several days. After more than two days without food or water, Sonja said she was finally brought a meal, which she said made her feel drowsy and fall unconscious.
When she woke, she saw Kelly putting on his pants and she realized her underwear had been removed. “I was sexually assaulted,” Sonja told the jury when asked what she believed happened to her. “Someone was inside of me that wasn’t invited.”
In her testimony, she added that one of Kelly’s associates later told her she wasn’t getting the interview and threatened. “He said you can’t tell anybody,” she recalled. “He had my address. The address to where my daughter was at.”
R. Kelly is currently on trial for running a criminal enterprise where his employees recruited women and girls for the singer to have sex with and abuse. Kelly has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
