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 On the 18th day of testimony at
Kelly's trial in federal court in Brooklyn,
Cheryl Mack, the mother of music producer London
on da Track, said she saw the woman begin to
massage Kelly while backstage at a Connecticut
concert where he was performing.
"That was kind of my cue to leave," Mack said.
"I was very uncomfortable." She said that as she
left the room she caught a glimpse of the woman
moving her head toward Kelly's groin.
Mack also said Kelly lost his temper in 2015
after she supposedly ruined a surprise birthday
party for former stylist Kash Howard, and had
her sign an "apology letter" that included false
claims she accepted kickbacks from booking
agents.
"I apologized out of fear," Mack said.
Several witnesses have testified that Kelly made
them write apology letters, purportedly to
absolve him of misconduct, but which prosecutors
could use to illustrate the tight control that
witnesses have said Kelly demanded over those
around him.
Friday's final prosecution witness was Dawn
Hughes, a clinical psychologist who discussed
how people might groom underage girls for sex,
and how victims cope with the trauma. Defense
lawyers are expected to cross-examine her on
Monday.
Kelly, 54, has pleaded not guilty to charges
over his alleged grooming and preying on women
and girls as far back as the mid-1990s, when he
shot to stardom with music including the 1996
smash "I Believe I Can Fly."
The singer, whose full name is
Robert Sylvester Kelly, faces one count of
racketeering and eight counts of illegally
transporting people across state lines for
prostitution.
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 Kelly's indictment said he
abused six women and underage girls including
the singer Aaliyah, who Kelly married illegally
in 1994 when she was 15. Aaliyah died in a 2001
plane crash.
Prosecution witnesses have said Kelly instilled
fear as he demanded they follow his stringent
rules, including by having women and girls call
him "Daddy," and punished those who disobeyed,
including by demanding unwanted sex.
Kelly's lawyers have tried to portray his
accusers as fans who once hoped to capitalize on
the singer's fame but felt jilted, and
questioned why they and former employees failed
to leave Kelly sooner or go to the police.
Deveraux Cannick, one of Kelly's lawyers, tried
while cross-examining Mack to show jurors she
should have known not to sign an apology letter,
given that she was in her late 40s and had many
years of music industry experience.
"I wasn't thinking at all," Mack told him.
The trial began on Aug. 18.
Kelly has faced sexual abuse accusations for
nearly two decades.
Scrutiny increased after the #MeToo movement
began in late 2017, and Lifetime aired the
documentary "Surviving R. Kelly" in January
2019.
Kelly also faces sex-related charges in Illinois
and Minnesota.
(Reporting by Tyler Clifford in New York;
editing by Grant McCool)
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