R. Kelly accuser gives emotional testimony in racketeering trial

An R. Kelly accuser broke down in tears Monday as she testified in the federal racketeering trial of the disgraced R&B star. Using a pseudonym to testify anonymously, the woman cried as she claimed she contracted herpes during her relationship with the singer, and that she believes Kelly knowingly exposed her to it.

Federal prosecutors in New York have accused Kelly of operating a criminal sex trafficking network composed of his managers, bodyguards, drivers, assistants and others who recruited minor females and women at concert venues where he was performing and other locations. Once Kelly had the accusers alone, he "dominated and controlled them physically, sexually and psychologically," Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Maria Cruz Melendez claimed during the trial's opening statements in a Brooklyn courtroom Wednesday.  Kelly has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him and has steadfastly maintained his innocence, including in an explosive 2019 interview with "CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King. His defense attorneys have blasted the alleged racketeering enterprise as an overreach by prosecutors, saying in one court filing the women sought out Kelly's attention and years later have "groupie remorse." Kelly's attorney, Nicole Blank Becker, on Wednesday claimed that the relationships were consensual and said that the women enjoyed the "notoriety of being able to tell their friends that they were with a superstar."