The first witness in R. Kelly's sexual abuse and racketing trial claims the 'I Believe I Can Fly' hitmaker knew she was underage when they had sex for the first time.

• Aug 20, 2021

AceShowbiz - Jerhonda Johnson Pace has told a court in Brooklyn, New York aggrieved singer R. Kelly knew she was underage when they had sex.

The "I Believe I Can Fly" star is accused of racketeering, sexual abuse and bribery in a string of allegations dating back more than 20 years.

If he's found guilty, the hitmaker faces decades behind bars, and on Wednesday (18Aug21) the first witness in his trial told the jury Kelly knew she was underage in 2009 when they had intercourse in Chicago, where the age of consent is 17.

Although the 28-year-old initially told him she was 19, she insists she revealed her real age on the day they slept together.

"I felt uncomfortable. I felt like it wasn't right, that I should tell him my age," she shared, reported BBC News.

"He asked me, 'What is that supposed to mean?' and told me to tell everyone I was 19 - and to act 21."

Pace admitted to being a fan of the singer and, in her opening argument, Kelly's lawyer Nicole Blank Becker claimed the alleged victims enjoyed the "notoriety of being able to tell their friends that they were with a superstar" before turning "spiteful." "He didn't recruit them. They were fans. They came to Mr Kelly," she told the court, calling some of the relationships "beautiful" and "long-term."

However, prosecutors have described him as a "predator" and "a man who used lies, manipulation, threats and physical abuse to dominate his victims and to avoid accountability for years."

The trial is expected to last about one month and will include testimony from female accusers and at least one male accuser. In addition to the Brooklyn trial, the "Ignition" star still faces sex-related charges in Illinois and Minnesota, where he has also pleaded not guilty.