R. Kelly’s first male accuser testifies in court

This story includes mention of child sexual abuse.

The trial against R. Kelly continues.

A man has appeared in court to testify against R. Kelly on the eighth day of the musician's trial. The trial has seen a number of women come forward with their testimonies of sexual abuse and grooming against the musician, but this man is the first male to lay accusations against him. The man agreed to testify against R. Kelly as part of an agreement he had with prosecutors in relation to a guilty plea in another case which alleged that he had bribed a woman not to testify against the singer. Testifying in court under the pseudonym Louis, the man claimed that he was 17 when R. Kelly promised him fame in exchange for sex. Louis said that the singer asked what he was "willing to do for music". He told the court that he said that he was willing to carry his bags for him, but, according to his testimony, R. Kelly said: "That's not it, that's not it." Louis alleged that R. Kelly asked if he had ever fantasised about having sex with men. He then said that the singer "crawled down on his knees and proceeded to give [him] oral sex." He also alleged that the singer "snapped his fingers" to summon a girl to perform oral sex on them. Throughout the trial, the court heard from numerous women who claimed that they had been groomed and sexually assaulted by R. Kelly. One woman testified that the singer sexually abused her following a performance in 1994, when she was 17 years old. Another woman, Jerhonda Pace told the court that she was 16 when she was first abused by R. Kelly. Ms Pace said that he "slapped and choked" her until she passed out. She also alleged that he wanted to "train her" sexually, after learning that she was a virgin.