One of the alleged victims of singer R. Kelly assured in testimony Thursday that the latter claimed that "
genius
"
artists
could behave as they pleased and had compared to singer Jerry Lee Lewis, who had married a 13-year-old girl.
Read alsoR Kelly trial: a victim tells of sexual and psychological violence
“
Look at Jerry Lee Lewis,
” the singer reportedly said, referring to a rock and roll pioneer who caused a scandal by marrying his 13-year-old cousin in the 1950s.
“
He's a genius and I am a genius.
We should be able to do whatever we want,
”said R. Kelly.
“
Look at how much we give to the world.
Stephanie, now 39, is the third woman to speak at R. Kelly's trial in New York City to charge the singer, on trial for extortion, sexual exploitation of a minor, kidnapping, bribery and forced labor, on a period from 1994 to 2018.
The singer, who faces life imprisonment, denies the charges.
Stephanie had met R. Kelly at a McDonald's in Chicago, where one of her associates had given her her number on a piece of paper.
Read also Violence and humiliation: at the trial of R. Kelly, a victim testifies
She had thrown it away and hadn't thought about it until the following year, during a promotional event for the singer near the girl's work.
She had approached him then, believing that he could help an acquaintance of her who was hoping to make a career in singing.
The hoped-for help never came to fruition, but Stephanie and R. Kelly had started having sex, with the star not ticking off when she told him she was only 17, she testified.
Sex with R. Kelly was "
humiliating,
" said Stephanie, crudely describing her requests, and explaining that he regularly filmed their antics.
The singer allegedly forced her to give her a blowjob in a car, while other people were present, she said, and sometimes left her alone and naked in a room for hours.
“
He could make me fear the worst very quickly,
” she said.
Stephanie, who said she had been sexually abused in the past at home and from a former boss, said she had sex with R. Kelly because she "did
n't feel like have the choice
”.
Around his 18th birthday, she would have decided to stop seeing him, feeling "
used, humiliated and degraded
".
“
I just didn't want to be abused anymore.
"
Sketch of the hearing of R. Kelly tried in New York in several cases of sexual abuse, since August 9.
JANE ROSENBERG / REUTERS
