Witness testifies R. Kelly paid $200,000 to settle STD suit

The woman said when they began having sex, she told the singer she was worried about STDs. When she asked him to use protection, “he just said no,” she testified.

SHARE Witness testifies R. Kelly paid $200,000 to settle STD suit
Members of the media gather outside to attend the trial in the racketeering and sex trafficking case of R. Kelly at Brooklyn Federal Court in Brooklyn, New York on August 18, 2021.  For more than a quarter-century Kelly, now 54, has faced lurid accusations including child pornography, sex with minors, operating a sex cult and sexual battery.

Members of the media gather outside to attend the trial in the racketeering and sex trafficking case of R. Kelly at Brooklyn Federal Court in Brooklyn, New York on August 18, 2021. For more than a quarter-century Kelly, now 54, has faced lurid accusations including child pornography, sex with minors, operating a sex cult and sexual battery.

Getty

NEW YORK — R. Kelly paid $200,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by a woman who accused him of giving her herpes two decades ago without disclosing he had it, the woman testified on Friday at the R&B singer’s sex-trafficking trial.

The woman — testifying during the trial’s third week without using her full real name — told a New York City jury she was 27 when she met Kelly through a mutual friend in 2001. She said when they began having sex, she told him she was worried about STDs, including AIDS.

When she asked him to use protection, “he just said no,” she testified.

R. Kelly Brooklyn Trial
New to the R. Kelly case?
Need a refresher on what’s happened so far?

Check out these links for everything you need to know about Kelly’s federal trial in Brooklyn.

It was the second time this week that jurors have heard testimony alleging Kelly gave a sex partner herpes — part of a case accusing him of leading a criminal enterprise that sexually exploited women, girls and even boys during a 30-year career highlighted by his anthem “I Believe I Can Fly.”

Kelly, 54, has denied any wrongdoing. His lawyers have portrayed his accusers as groupies who are lying about their relationships with him.

The defendant has been trailed for decades by complaints and allegations about his sexual behavior. The scrutiny intensified again amid the #MeToo movement in recent years, with multiple women going public with accusations against the singer that have resulted in federal criminal charges in New York and Chicago, keeping him in jail since 2019.

There will be a break in the trial until Thursday. The government is expected to rest its case sometime during the week of Sept. 13.

The Latest
Steele held the Rangers to one run through 4 2/3 innings.
The Cubs opened the season against the reigning World Series champions in Texas.
Murder charges have been filed against suspect Christian I. Soto, 22. Investigators haven’t determined a motive for the attacks, but they say Soto had been smoking marijuana before the rampage.
To celebrate the historic coinciding of the emerging of two broods, artists can adopt a cicada for free in exchange for decorating it and displaying it publicly. Others can purchase the cicadas for $75.