World News
R Kelly’s ex goddaughter tells jury that the singer had sex with her from age 15-18
A woman who has been pivotal to R. Kelly’s legal troubles for more than two decades testified on Thursday, August 18 that the R&B singer had sex with her ‘hundreds’ of times before she turned 18 years old, starting when she was just 15.
Jane – the pseudonym for the now 37-year-old woman at Kelly’s trial on child pornography and obstruction of justice charges told jurors that in the late 1990s when she was 13, she asked the Grammy award-winning singer to be her godfather because she saw him as a mentor.
She said few weeks after, Kelly started calling her to say sexual things.
She said he first touched her breasts when she was around 14 at a Chicago recording studio, and that around that time, he ‘started penetration’ at his North Side Chicago home.
Jane said she was 15 when they first had intercourse. Kelly, 55, would have been around 30 years old at the time.
Sometimes, they would have sex with other teenage girls she would recruit at Kelly’s request, she testified,
With her testimony on Thursday, Jane served as the first former victim to speak out about what she allegedly endured in the R&B star’s ongoing child pornography trial.
He stands charged in Chicago federal court with enticing of minors for sex, producing child pornography and rigging his 2008 pornography trial.
Read Also: This is why prosecutors want to seize $28,000 from R Kelly’s prison account
Prosecutors allege that R. Kelly paid off and threatened Jane and her family to ensure that she didn’t testify at a similar 2008 trial. She didn’t testify and he was ultimately acquitted.
Kelly, 55, is serving a 30-year prison sentence for his conviction in a New York court earlier this year on other federal charges alleging he used his fame to sexually abuse fans over several decades.
Two other minor victims are also expected to testify in the Chicago trial, which is expected to last about a month.
Jane said she was in a music group at the time, and Kelly — a friend of her aunt’s — attended one of their performances, and gave her good feedback.
‘It made me feel happy that such a successful person was saying I was gifted, so I was excited,’ Jane testified, according to the Chicago Tribune.
She said her aunt then advised her to ask Kelly to be her godfather. According to her, her aunt said ‘I should sit on his lap and rub his head and ask him to play that role in my life.’
Jane said she obliged, and Kelly ‘chuckled a bit, and said “yes.”
But soon the relationship became sexual.
In at least one case, WGN-TV reports, she said Kelly asked her what color her underwear was, and told her he was pleasuring himself as they spoke.
Kelly then gave her alcohol for the first time when she was 14, Jane said, and she began drinking heavily.
‘It would help me loosen up, kind of take me away from the moment,’ she said.
By the time she was 15, she said, they started having sex, and when asked by a prosecutor how she knew her exact age, Jane replied: ‘Because that’s when I lost my virginity.’
Read Also: R Kelly misses court hearing in Chicago after ‘refusing transport’
From there, Jane said, they would have intercourse in Kelly’s home on West George Street, at his Near West Side recording studio, on tour buses and in hotels.
Asked by a prosecutor how she would know what to do sexually, Jane answered: ‘He would tell me what to do.’
And when asked how many times they had sex before she turned 18, she answered quietly: ‘Uncountable times…hundreds.’
Unlike at the 2008 trial, Jane is now cooperating with prosecutors and is a pivotal witness.
Prosecutors say Kelly shot an explicit video of Jane in a log cabin-themed room at his North Side Chicago home between 1998 and 2000. In it, the girl is heard calling the man ‘daddy.’
Prosecutors say Kelly, who rose from poverty on Chicago’s South Side to become a star singer, knew a conviction in 2008 would effectively end his life, so he conspired to fix that trial.
According to prosecutors, Kelly told Jane and her parents to leave Chicago, paying for them to travel to the Bahamas and Cancun, Mexico.
When they returned, prosecutors say Kelly sought to isolate Jane, moving her around to different hotels. When called before a state grand jury looking into the video, Jane, her father and mother denied it was her in it.
Read Also: M-Net to exclusively air three-part Reeva Steenkamp documentary, My Name is Reeva
On June 13, 2008, when he was acquitted on all counts of child pornography, some of the jurors told reporters after the trial that they weren’t convinced that the female in the video was who state prosecutors said she was.
Kelly, who has denied any wrongdoing, has been trailed for decades by complaints and allegations about his sexual behavior. The scrutiny intensified after the #MeToo era and the 2019 six-part documentary ‘Surviving R. Kelly.’
Kelly also faces four counts of enticement of minors for sex – one each for four other accusers. They, too, are expected to testify.
Prosecutors also say they have evidence of at least three videos showing Kelly having sex with underage girls.
World News
Major step in malaria prevention as three West African countries roll out vaccine
In a significant step forward for malaria prevention in Africa, three countries—Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone—today launched a large-scale rollout of the life-saving malaria vaccine targeting millions of children across the three West African nations. The vaccine rollout, announced on World Malaria Day, seeks to further scale up vaccine deployment in the African region.
Today’s launch brings to eight the number of countries on the continent to offer the malaria vaccine as part of the childhood immunization programmes, extending access to more comprehensive malaria prevention. Several of the more than 30 countries in the African region that have expressed interest in the vaccine are scheduled to roll it out in the next year through support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, as efforts continue to widen its deployment in the region in coordination with other prevention measures such as long-lasting insecticidal nets and seasonal malaria chemoprevention.
Benin, which received 215 900 doses, has added the malaria vaccine to its Expanded Programme on Immunization. The malaria vaccine should be provided in a schedule of 4 doses in children from around 5 months of age.
“The introduction of the malaria vaccine in the Expanded Programme on Immunization for our children is a major step forward in the fight against this scourge. I would like to reassure that the malaria vaccines are safe and effective and contribute to the protection of our children against this serious and fatal diseases,” said Prof Benjamin Hounkpatin, Minister of Health of Benin.
In Liberia, the vaccine was launched in the southern Rivercess County and will be rolled out afterwards in five other counties which have high malaria burden. At least 45 000 children are expected to benefit from the 112 000 doses of the available vaccine.
“For far too long, malaria has stolen the laughter and dreams of our children. But today, with this vaccine and the unwavering commitment of our communities, healthcare workers and our partners, including Gavi, UNICEF and WHO, we break the chain. We have a powerful tool that will protect them from this devastating illness and related deaths, ensuring their right to health and a brighter future. Let’s end malaria in Liberia and pave the way for a healthier, more just society,” said Dr Louise Kpoto, Liberia’s Minister of Health.
Two safe and effective vaccines — RTS,S and R21 — recommended by World Health Organization (WHO), are a breakthrough for child health and malaria control. A pilot malaria vaccine programme in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi reached over 2 million children from 2019 to 2023, showing a significant reduction in malaria illness and a 13% drop in overall child mortality and substantial reductions in hospitalizations.
In Sierra Leone, the first doses were administered to children at a health centre in Western Area Rural where the authorities kicked off the rollout of 550 000 vaccine doses. The vaccine will then be delivered in health facilities nationwide.
“With the new, safe and efficacious malaria vaccine, we now have an additional tool to fight this disease. In combination with insecticide-treated nets, effective diagnosis and treatment, and indoor spraying, no child should die from malaria infection,” said Dr Austin Demby, Minister of Health of Sierra Leone.
Malaria remains a huge health challenge in the African region, which is home to 11 countries that carry approximately 70% of the global burden of malaria. The region accounted for 94% of global malaria cases and 95% of all malaria deaths in 2022, according to the World Malaria Report.
“The African region is taking positive steps in scaling up the rollout of the malaria vaccine – a game-changer in our fight against this deadly disease,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “Working with our partners, we’re committed to supporting the ongoing efforts to protect, save the lives of young children and lower the malaria burden in the region.”
Aurelia Nguyen, Chief Programme Officer at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, noted: “Today we celebrate more children gaining access to a new lifesaving tool to fight one of Africa’s deadliest diseases. This introduction of malaria vaccines into routine programmes in Benin, Liberia, and Sierra Leone alongside other proven interventions will help save lives and offer relief to families, communities and hard-pressed health systems.”
Progress against malaria has stalled in these high-burden African countries since 2017 due to factors including climate change, humanitarian crises, low access to and insufficient quality of health services, gender-related barriers, biological threats such as insecticide and drug resistance and global economic crises. Fragile health systems and critical gaps in data and surveillance have compounded the challenge.
To put malaria progress back on track, WHO recommends robust commitment to malaria responses at all levels, particularly in high-burden countries; greater domestic and international funding; science and data-driven malaria responses; urgent action on the health impacts of climate change; harnessing research and innovation; as well as strong partnerships for coordinated responses. WHO is also calling attention to addressing delays in malaria programme implementation.
World News
Kid Cudi cancels tour after breaking foot at Coachella
Kid Cudi has been forced to cancel his tour after breaking his foot at Coachella over the weekend. During the fest’s Weekend Two on Sunday night, the rapper went to the hospital with a broken foot after jumping off the stage at the Sahara Tent. (more…)
World News
The Un Certain Regard Jury of the 77th Festival de Cannes
The Canadian actor, director, screenwriter and producer Xavier Dolan will be the President of the Un Certain Regard Jury of the 77th Festival de Cannes. He will be joined by French-Senegalese screenwriter and director Maïmouna Doucouré, Moroccan director, screenwriter and producer Asmae El Moudir, German-Luxembourg actress Vicky Krieps, and American film critic, director, and writer Todd McCarthy. They will be in charge of awarding prizes for the Un Certain Regard section, which showcases art and discovery films by young auteurs.
This year, 18 films have been selected, including 8 first films. The 2023 Un Certain Regard top prize went to director Molly Manning Walker’s debut feature How to Have Sex.
When the light breaks by Rúnar Rúnarsson will open the Un Certain Regard section on Wednesday May 15, 2024.
|
|
|
|
|
World News
Kanye West reportedly planning to launch porn studio
World News
Additions to the selection of the 77th Festival de Cannes
|
|
|
|
|
|
World News
Eminem celebrates 16 years of sobriety
- Buzz1 week ago
My wife sent her nudes to her Dubai lover while I was on my sick bed – Erico speaks on divorce
- Buzz7 days ago
Afronita’s mum was against me managing Endurance Grand alongside her daughter – Quables
- Buzz1 day ago
I underestimated the extent of my influence – Serwaa Amihere apologizes
- Buzz1 week ago
Stonebwoy performs ‘Activate’ with Davido at sold-out Madison Square Garden show
- People & Lifestyle5 days ago
REPORT: Dulcie Boateng’s Porials Pitch leads to arrests over ‘unregistered products’
- Buzz1 week ago
Family of accident victims refuses to press charges against Funny Face despite pressure
- Buzz1 week ago
Ghana’s New Train from Poland Crashes During Test Run
- Gossip5 days ago
WATCH: Irene Logan sings ‘At Last’ as she dances with her husband at their wedding reception
- Buzz3 days ago
Kofi Kinaata Credits Samini’s High Grade Family for Musical Breakthrough
- Buzz1 week ago
I was battling Kidney Disease – Erico on Absence from music scene
- Buzz2 days ago
Why single mothers struggle to find partners – Joselyn Dumas
- Buzz1 week ago
“Life has humbled me so much” – Mercy Johnson