Pace, known as Jane Doe No. 4 in the case, was the first witness to take the stand in the R&B singer's racketeering and sex trafficking trial.
NEW YORK ― Jerhonda Pace, 28, paused to catch her breath and take a sip of water while she was on the stand testifying againstin a Brooklyn federal court on Wednesday. She was the first witness, referred to in the case as Jane Doe No. 4, of the trial to describe alleged abuse from the R&B singer.
On this day in 2010, distracted by her phone, she said, she failed to acknowledge him when he walked into a room she was in, so he then slapped her and choked her until she passed out. The much-anticipated trial — delayed nearly two years in part due to the coronavirus pandemic — finally started Wednesday in the Brooklyn federal courthouse in New York City, with opening statements from prosecutors and the defense attorneys discussing the racketeering and trafficking charges against Kelly. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Cruz Melendez and defense attorney Nicole Blank Becker spoke for the majority of the day before Pace was called to testify.
She said that Kelly had a group of people “all at his disposal,” including bodyguards, accountants and assistants, whom he relied on to help him facilitate and cover up crimes for nearly 30 years. Becker, who is a former assistant Wayne County prosecutor in Detroit, at one point urged the jury to find Kelly guilty before she quickly corrected herself, adding that she hoped the jurors would find her client not guilty.
Kelly’s attorneys showcased their main defense in opening statements: These women consented to sex and became upset when Kelly broke off the relationships, Becker argued.
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