On Monday (Jan. 14), attorney Gloria Allred steered a press conference concerning R. Kelly‘s alleged intimidation tactics against one of her clients, Faith Rodgers, who was featured in Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly docu-series. Rodgers, who met Kelly at 19, stated that the latter has “threatened with retaliation” since the program’s airing, The Hollywood Reporter states.
Previously, Rodgers filed a lawsuit against Kelly after she reportedly contracted an STD from him that he allegedly had knowledge of. Rodgers also states she endured bouts of “mentally, sexually and verbally” abusive nature at the hands of the R&B singer.
“We are here today to let Mr. Kelly know in no uncertain terms that he cannot and will not intimidate his alleged victims into keeping silent about their allegations,” Allred said. “We have evidence that Mr. Kelly has engaged in efforts to intimidate and retaliate against Faith Rodgers.” The attorney, who represented a number of women in the Bill Cosby sexual assault trial, believes the lawsuit against Kelly will make him hold himself accountable.
In an interview with Broadly, attorney Adam Sheppard, who was part of Kelly’s defense team during his child pornography trial, said it’ll be a long-fought period for prosecutors to finally find Kelly guilty of his reported crimes.
“The prosecution will have their hands full because there is a lack of a prompt outcry. There may be a lack of corroboration. Corroboration includes everything from witnesses who may have seen the incident to physical evidence such as DNA,” Sheppard said. “Those are common facts in a sexual assault prosecution that prosecutors rely on [such as DNA] and apparently, given the age of the alleged offense, that won’t be available to prosecutors in this case.”
A criminal investigation in Georgia against Kelly is currently underway, a gesture that has now affected his label, RCA Records’ promotion of his new music.
WATCH NOW: Attorney Gloria Allred appears with R. Kelly accuser after documentary series on singer details alleged pattern of sexual assault https://t.co/gbuOHdf4j8 pic.twitter.com/1793Xu5I8g
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 14, 2019
R. Kelly accuser Faith Rodgers to singer: “Robert Kelly, the Faith Rodgers that you knew, that you met when I was 19 years old no longer exists. She was vulnerable and impressionable. The 21-year- old you’re seeing now is much wiser and much stronger.” pic.twitter.com/6FY3wpPaGK
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 14, 2019