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 Prosecutors have sought to
portray the 54-year-old Kelly as a hot-tempered
predator who exploited his fame to draw fans and
aspiring singers into his circle, only to coerce
them into obeying his rigid rules and punish
them if they failed.
Defense lawyers have tried to portray Kelly's
accusers as fans who felt jilted after being
unable to capitalize on the singer's fame, and
questioned why they failed to leave Kelly sooner
or go to the police, and waited years to come
forward.
U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly suggested that
the jurors in Brooklyn federal court could begin
deliberating as soon as Thursday.
That suggests that Kelly's defense, which began
on Monday and which his lawyers said may include
about six witnesses, will likely not include
testimony from Kelly himself.
Kelly is not required to testify, and would
likely be subjected to days of questioning from
prosecutors if he took the witness stand.
The singer, whose full name is Robert Sylvester
Kelly, has pleaded not guilty to one count of
racketeering and eight counts of illegally
transporting people across state lines for
prostitution.
Prosecutors have accused Kelly of grooming and
preying on women and girls as far back as the
mid-1990s, when his music including the 1996
Grammy-winning song "I Believe I Can Fly"
propelled him to fame.
His alleged victims include the singer Aaliyah,
who was 15 when Kelly married her illegally in
1994. The marriage was later annulled, and
Aaliyah died in a 2001 plane crash.
Since the trial began on Aug. 18, jurors have
heard testimony from dozens of women and former
employees about Kelly's alleged tightfisted
control over his entourage.
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 Several witnesses have said
Kelly became angry if people broke "Rob's
rules," which included that they call him
"Daddy" or get permission to go to the bathroom
or talk with others. Witnesses
have also said Kelly pressed accusers to write
"apology letters" to potentially absolve him of
wrongdoing, and failed to reveal prior to
intercourse that he had the sexually transmitted
disease herpes.
On Monday, jurors heard defense testimony from a
musical artist, who performs as Da-Ni, who said
he has known Kelly since about 2005, viewing the
singer as a mentor to shadow in the studio and
at concerts, in order to "observe, learn and
become." He testified that he
had never seen illicit activity by Kelly toward
the alleged victims.
But a prosecutor, Maria Cruz Melendez, tried on
cross-examination to show that the witness was
not close to Kelly, and wanted to stay on the
singer's good side to advance his own music
career, which never panned out.
Jurors also heard defense testimony from a
former Chicago police officer who said he worked
twice in Kelly's security detail.
Scrutiny of Kelly increased after the #MeToo
movement began in late 2017, and Lifetime aired
the documentary "Surviving R. Kelly" in January
2019.
Kelly still faces sex-related charges in
Illinois and Minnesota, regardless of the
outcome of the Brooklyn trial.
 (Reporting by Tyler Clifford in New York;
Editing by Howard Goller)
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