A spectator watching the R. Kelly trial in Brooklyn federal court verbally attacked the father of one of the singer’s accusers on Tuesday, calling his daughter a “stupid bitch” after court had adjourned.
Before proceedings resumed Wednesday in the sex-crimes trial of the disgraced singer, Assistant United States Attorney Nadia Shihata asked Judge Ann Donnelly to remind the public viewing the trial to maintain decorum. Shihata explained that in addition to “audible negative reactions to testimony” from the mostly pro-Kelly public room, one of those viewers actually approached the father of one of the witnesses.
On Tuesday, a woman identified in court as Faith had taken the stand, detailing an emotionally abusive relationship with Kelly she said she endured for almost a year when she was 19. Her dad caught blowback, according to the prosecutor.
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“The individual as they were leaving... called the witness a stupid bitch,” Shihata said Wednesday.
Faith continued her testimony Wednesday in any case, claiming that just days after she last saw Kelly in New York City in Feb. 2018, she learned she contracted herpes from the singer.
Kelly, 54, is charged in New York with a nine-count indictment, including racketeering based on sexual exploitation of children, kidnapping, and forced labor. He is also charged with violations of the Mann Act, which bars the transport of people across state lines for sex.
