R. Kelly sued for sexual battery and infecting woman with STD
R. Kelly has been sued for sexual battery, false imprisonment, and failure to disclose an STD, The New York Times reports. According to the report, the lawsuit also alleges that Kelly “routinely engaged in intimidation, mental, verbal and sexual abuse, during and after sexual contact.”
In the filing on Monday (21 May), Faith A. Rodgers, a resident of Texas claims she met Kelly in March 2017 after his performance in San Antonio. Rodgers was reportedly 19 years old when the two met. After keeping in touch for a few months via phone, R. Kelly reportedly arranged for her to fly to New York where he “initiated unwanted sexual contact” in a hotel room, including “non-consensual oral and vaginal intercourse,” according to the complaint.
The lawsuit also goes on to state that the rapper did not tell Rodgers, who now turned 20, that he was infected with herpes and she contracted the disease. She previously filed a formal complaint with Dallas police, saying Kelly “knowingly and intentionally” gave her the STD without informing her that he had herpes — an offense that can result in an assault charge.
Rodgers remained in a relationship with R. Kelly for about a year. The lawsuit also claims that R. Kelly regularly recorded Rodgers without her consent during sex and often kept her locked in secluded areas to punish and control her. According to the complaint, it was “behavior designed to humiliate, embarrass, intimate and shame her.”
“Unfortunately, the facts and background of this case are not unique,” the lawsuit says, in reference to the fact that the 51-year-old rapper has faced claims that he targets and abuses underage girls for around two decades now — allegations that he has steadfastly denied. The Times report also notes that though Kelly has settled numerous lawsuits with women, he faced criminal prosecution for sexual misconduct just once, and was acquitted in 2008 of child pornography charges. As we had reported earlier, several women recently recounted experiences of physical and verbal abuse at Kelly's cult where the women are called 'babies' and he is referred to as "daddy."
In related news, earlier this month, the streaming giant Spotify announced that it would be removing R. Kelly's music from its flagship playlists due to a new policy against “Hate Content & Hateful Conduct.” However, in a strange turn of events, it has now surfaced that the 'Ignition' hit-maker's streaming numbers have actually increased.
According to an AP report, before the announcement, Kelly averaged 6,584,000 weekly streams for the year. But from May 10 to May 16 he garnered 6,676,000 streams for the week.