The Supreme Court will hear three cases that ask if existing US job discrimination laws should extend to sexual orientation and gender identity. Two of the cases involve alleged discrimination of gay men by their employers and the third examines the discrimination of a transgender person.
The cases will signal the direction of LGBTQ rights in the US four years after gay marriage was legalised nationwide.
In its listing of the cases the Supreme Court cites Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the section that prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of race, colour, religion, sex and national origin.
But it does not explicitly reference sexual orientation or gender identity and lower courts have been divided in recent years on whether the protections should apply to either category.
The US Justice Department under Trump has supported the employers in each case arguing that existing federal civil rights protections do not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity. This marks a change in course from the Obama administration, which supported treating LGBTQ discrimination as sex discrimination.
Sarah Warbelow, Human Rights Campaign legal director, said: “The Supreme Court has an opportunity to clarify this area of law to ensure protections for LGBTQ people in many important areas of life. The growing legal consensus is that our nation’s civil rights laws do protect LGBTQ people against discrimination under sex nondiscrimination laws.”
She went on to urge Congress to pass protections for LGBTQ employees “regardless” of the court’s decision.
The UN Security Council has passed a watered-down resolution on ending sexual violence in war after the United States threatened to veto the plans due to the Trump administration’s strong stance against abortion. The resolution condemns the use of rape as a weapon of war and expressed the council’s deep concern at “the slow progress” in addressing and eliminating sexual violence in conflicts around the world. It also said such acts often occur with impunity “and in some situations have become systematic and widespread, reaching appalling levels of brutality”.
The original draft of the proposal said the UN intends to: “Recognise the importance of providing timely assistance to survivors of sexual violence, urges United Nations entities and donors to provide non-discriminatory and comprehensive health services, including sexual and reproductive health, psychosocial, legal, and livelihood support and other multi-sectoral services for survivors of sexual violence, taking into account the specific needs of persons with disabilities.”
But the amended version stated the UN nations would only: “Recognise the importance of providing timely assistance to survivors of sexual violence, urges United Nations entities and donors to provide non-discriminatory and comprehensive health services, in line with Resolution 2106.”
The resolution passed 13-0, while China and Russia abstained from voting on the amended proposal.
Nobel Peace Prize winners Dr. Denis Mukwege (who set up a hospital to treat victims of sexual violence in conflict) and Nadia Murad (who was kept as a Yazidi sex slave by IS and campaigns to end sexual violence as a weapon of war) issued a statement condemning the US position: “There is simply no excuse for continuing to fail those who have already been victimised – as well as those who continue to be at risk of – devastating levels of sexual violence in conflict.”
Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, who had attended the meeting and supported the initial resolution, demanded justice for victims of an “epidemic of sexual violence” in conflicts, especially rapes and other abuses perpetrated by Islamic State extremists in Iraq and Syria and told the security council that if the organisation’s most powerful body cannot prevent the prevalence of sexual violence in wars all over the world, “then at least it must punish it” and make justice a priority.
National Basketball Association coach Luke Walton is being sued for sexually asssaulting sports reporter Kelli Tennant. Ms Tennant alleges she met Walton at the Hotel Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica to give him a copy of her 2014 book. The two reportedly had a working relationship, stemming from Walton’s time as a guest on a US regional cable sports channel where Ms Tennant worked.
Walton had also written the foreword to her book. Ms Tennant had viewed Mr Walton as a “trusted mentor and colleague”. When Ms Tennant arrived at the hotel Walton invited her to his room, ostensibly so they would not be seen by any Golden State Warriors, the team he coached at the time.
Once inside his suite, Walton “pinned Ms Tennant on the bed, placing his hips and legs over her body”, before groping her chest and groin. The lawsuit states: “She was afraid she was about to be raped.”
Walton’s lawyer Mark Baute released a statement categorically denying the allegations: “The accuser is an opportunist, not a victim, and her claim is not credible.”
R Kelly has lost a civil court case by default after failing to respond to a legal case brought by a woman (known as HW) who accused him of repeated sexual abuse when she was 16. The age of consent in Illinois is 17. The victim sued the singer in February, a day before Kelly was arrested on 10 charges of sexual abuse.
The judge will determine how much Kelly should pay in damages next month.
The Native American equivalent of Miss World was this year dedicated to the indigenous women who have gone missing or been murdered.
The Miss Indian World Pageant is a part of one of the largest gatherings of Native American people in the US.
Organisers say they hope to raise awareness: “We’re just recognising and trying to bring more of a call of action toward the issue itself. Hopefully it will be the beginning to the end of this problem.”
The plight of the missing and murdered women has become a focus in the past year of state and federal legislation, prompting demonstrations and marches.
According to a report from the Urban Health Institute there were 5,712 cases of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in 2016 alone.
But only 116 of these cases were logged in the Department of Justice’s federal missing persons database and due to a scarcity of resources in the area, researchers say this number is likely an undercount.
Other studies have shown that Native American women are killed at more than 10 times the national average.
Democratic representative Deb Haaland, the first Native American woman elected to Congress, welcomed the powwow to her native New Mexico, calling the event “one of the world’s most recognized celebrations of indigenous culture”: “I’m incredibly grateful for Miss Indian World for making this a priority and to the Gathering of Nations for their leadership.”
Village Voice: What does it say for us to like his music? Jim DeRogatis: I think, again, everybody has to individually answer. I can still listen to Led Zeppelin and take joy in Led Zeppelin or James Brown. I condemn the things they did. I’m not reminded constantly in the art, because the art is not about it. But if you’re listening to “I want to marry you, pussy,” and not realizing that he said that to Aaliyah, who was 14, and making an album he named Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number — I had Aaliyah’s mother cry on my shoulder and say her daughter’s life was ruined, Aaliyah’s life was never the same after that. That’s not an experience you’ve had. I’m not expecting you to feel the same way I do. But you can look at this body of evidence. “You” meaning everybody who cares.
18 ☎ ⚠ 2015
April 18, 2015: Theresa and Angelo take their “FL,” their 17 year old daughter (who turns 18 in December), a high school senior, to see Robert Kelly perform at FunkFest in Orlando.
A guy (working for Robert Kelly) pulls “FL” from the crowd to go onstage.
“During the show, they were pulling people out of the audience,” Theresa said. “A guy said, ‘Oh yeah, her.’ He pulled her up onstage.”
After the show, a member of Robert Kelly’s entourage gives “FL” Robert Kelly’s phone number.
“FL” and her mother Theresa give Robert Kelly a call, he doesn’t answer, they leave a message. Theresa thinks this is the end of it, not knowing that Robert Kelly continues speaking with “FL” on the phone in secret.
“FL” meets up with Robert Kelly at a hotel, her parents Theresa and Angelo find out and run to get her. “FL” comes down to meet them, Robert Kelly refuses to meet them.
August 26, 2015 – In August, “FL,” age 17, texts her parents that she is in Chicago. Her parents send their older daughter to try to bring her sister home by going to the Chicago recording studio where “FL” is being held.
Robert Kelly’s recording studio 320 West Ohio Street, Chicago, IL 60654
Kelly and men in his entourage allegedly got involved in an altercation with the older sister when she tried to take her younger sister away, said the parents, who claimed the star and the other men pushed, shoved, and hit the older sister.
A police report obtained by BuzzFeed News indicated that one person allegedly struck the Florida singer’s sister in her face, but she did not seek medical attention. The case is classified as a simple battery and nobody has been arrested, according to the report, which said the investigation was initially suspended until a detective could contact the victim. A supplementary report was filed more than a year later, on Jan. 18, 2017.
18 ⚠ 2016
December 30, 2016 – “FL” turns 18, the age of consent in Florida, and soon after moves into one of Robert Kelly’s rental properties, likely this one:
715 Creek Wind Court Duluth, Georgia 30097
Though “FL” is Robert Kelly’s “favorite,” he punishes her severely when she doesn’t follow one of his strange rules.
“He left [the Florida woman] on the [tour] bus for, like, three days and she was not allowed to come out,” McGee said. “He said she didn’t do her homework — that’s why she was punished — which was very confusing, because she had just graduated [high school] over the summer.”
20 ⚠ 2017
July 14, 2017 – After Robert Kelly and the “FL” had been asked for comment on this story, “FL” calls her father Angelo after many months of silence. Invites him to a show and informs him that Robert Kelly is paying for her to have breast enhancement surgery.
“I am beyond furious,” Angelo said. “I said to her, ‘How could you do this? What the hell were you thinking? What if you died on the operating table?’ I don’t even know what we can do anymore. I just know we got to get her home.”
Azriel Clary
Azriel Clary, 18-year-old aspiring pop singer from Polk County, Florida. Robert Kelly’s former assistant says that Azriel Clary is Kelly’s “favorite — his number-one girl.”
18 ☎ ⚠ 2015
April 18, 2015: Theresa and Angelo take Azriel Clary, their 17 year old daughter (who turns 18 in December), a high school senior, to see Robert Kelly perform at FunkFest in Orlando.
A guy (working for Robert Kelly) pulls Azriel Clary from the crowd to go onstage.
“During the show, they were pulling people out of the audience,” Theresa said. “A guy said, ‘Oh yeah, her.’ He pulled her up onstage.”
After the show, a member of Robert Kelly’s entourage gives Azriel Clary Robert Kelly’s phone number.
Azriel Clary and her mother Theresa give Robert Kelly a call, he doesn’t answer, they leave a message. Theresa thinks this is the end of it, not knowing that Robert Kelly continues speaking with Azriel on the phone in secret.
Azriel Clary meets up with Robert Kelly at a hotel, her parents Theresa and Angelo find out and run to get her. Azriel comes down to meet them, Robert Kelly refuses to meet them.
August 26, 2015 – In August, Azriel Clary, age 17, texts her parents that she is in Chicago. Her parents send their older daughter to try to bring her sister home by going to the Chicago recording studio where Azriel is being held.
Robert Kelly’s recording studio 320 West Ohio Street, Chicago, IL 60654
Kelly and men in his entourage allegedly got involved in an altercation with the older sister when she tried to take her younger sister away, said the parents, who claimed the star and the other men pushed, shoved, and hit the older sister.
A police report obtained by BuzzFeed News indicated that one person allegedly struck the Florida singer’s sister in her face, but she did not seek medical attention. The case is classified as a simple battery and nobody has been arrested, according to the report, which said the investigation was initially suspended until a detective could contact the victim. A supplementary report was filed more than a year later, on Jan. 18, 2017.
18 ⚠ 2016
December 30, 2016 – Azriel Clary turns 18, the age of consent in Florida, and soon after moves into one of Robert Kelly’s rental properties, likely this one:
715 Creek Wind Court Duluth, Georgia 30097
Though Azriel Clary is Robert Kelly’s “favorite,” he punishes her severely when she doesn’t follow one of his strange rules.
“He left [the Florida woman] on the [tour] bus for, like, three days and she was not allowed to come out,” McGee said. “He said she didn’t do her homework — that’s why she was punished — which was very confusing, because she had just graduated [high school] over the summer.”
20 ⚠ 2017
July 14, 2017 – After Robert Kelly and Azriel Clary had been asked for comment on this story, Azriel calls her father Angelo after many months of silence. Invites him to a show and informs him that Robert Kelly is paying for her to have breast enhancement surgery.
“I am beyond furious,” Angelo said. “I said to her, ‘How could you do this? What the hell were you thinking? What if you died on the operating table?’ I don’t even know what we can do anymore. I just know we got to get her home.”
Later, in an interview with GQ, R. Kelly says, “Just like me having no father, that’s a generational curse… I want to be able to be a father to my kids, where I’ve never seen my father, but my kids can see me whenever they want, so that [generational curse] was broken. (In practice, for reasons Robert Kelly suggests are beyond his control, he rarely sees his 3 children.)
31 ⚖ ⚠ 2005
September 2005: Andrea files for an order of protection explaining to the court that when she told her husband she wanted a divorce, he became angry and hit her. She rescinds the order several weeks later as the couple reportedly reconciles, though she later says they live in separate residences.
29 ⚠ 2003
Robert Kelly exhibits extremely controlling behavior by isolating Andrea from her family.
In 2003, after all 3 of Andrea and Robert’s children are born, Andrea’s mother, grandfather, and aunt tell Sun Times columnist Mary Mitchell that they are upset because they are not allowed to visit her at Robert Kelly’s Olympia Fields house, or even speak to her on the phone.
Robert Kelly’s Olympia Fields Home at 1 Maros Ln, Olympia Fields, IL 60461
22 ⚖ ⚠ 1996
1996: Robert Kelly marries Andrea, a choreographer & dancer from his stage show. Her nickname within his inner circle is “Puppydog.”
The couple is rarely photographed in public.
Kelly associates tell the Sun Times that Andrea is expected to knock before entering any room in their house when her husband is at home.
20 ☎ 1994
Kelly meets his future wife Andrea Lee when she auditions to be a dancer for the 12 Play tour (she was 20 at the time).
Andrea
Born January 28, 1974 in Chicago, Illinois, Andrea met Robert Kelly when she was 20 and he was 27. She was auditioning to be a dancer for his tour. (Like may of his victims, Andrea met Robert Kelly in the capacity of auditioning to work with him, as a singer, dancer, writer, etc.) They got married in 1996, 2 years after his illegal marriage to Aaliyah. She has 3 children with him: Joann, Jay (born Jaya), and Robert Jr. Robert Kelly showed extremely controlling and violent behavior: isolating her from family, imposing strict rules e.g. she had to knock before entering any room of her own home, and hitting her. They divorced in 2009.
Andrea and her children at her second wedding.
20 ☎ 1994
Kelly meets his future wife Andrea Lee when she auditions to be a dancer for the 12 Play tour (she was 20 at the time).
22 ⚖ ⚠ 1996
1996: Robert Kelly marries Andrea, a choreographer & dancer from his stage show. Her nickname within his inner circle is “Puppydog.”
The couple is rarely photographed in public.
Kelly associates tell the Sun Times that Andrea is expected to knock before entering any room in their house when her husband is at home.
29 ⚠ 2003
Robert Kelly exhibits extremely controlling behavior by isolating Andrea from her family.
In 2003, after all 3 of Andrea and Robert’s children are born, Andrea’s mother, grandfather, and aunt tell Sun Times columnist Mary Mitchell that they are upset because they are not allowed to visit her at Robert Kelly’s Olympia Fields house, or even speak to her on the phone.
Robert Kelly’s Olympia Fields Home at 1 Maros Ln, Olympia Fields, IL 60461
31 ⚖ ⚠ 2005
September 2005: Andrea files for an order of protection explaining to the court that when she told her husband she wanted a divorce, he became angry and hit her. She rescinds the order several weeks later as the couple reportedly reconciles, though she later says they live in separate residences.
Later, in an interview with GQ, R. Kelly says, “Just like me having no father, that’s a generational curse… I want to be able to be a father to my kids, where I’ve never seen my father, but my kids can see me whenever they want, so that [generational curse] was broken. (In practice, for reasons Robert Kelly suggests are beyond his control, he rarely sees his 3 children.)
24 ⚖ 2008
June 14, 2008: When Reshona is 23 going on 24, and Robert Kelly is 41, he is found not guilty.
6.5 years after Robert Kelly is indicted, which is an extraordinary long period, lawyers call it the “victory by delay” tactic – Robert Kelly is tried and found not guilty.
After one day of deliberations, Kelly is found not guilty on all counts. In interviews with the media outside the court, jurors say they were certain that Kelly was the man on the tape, but they could not be certain about the identity of the girl, hence they could not be sure about her age and whether the video really was child pornography.
“And some 40 people testified that it was her?” Jim DeRogatis: Yeah. Coaches, best friend’s parents, pastor, half the family, grandmother, aunt–but the mother and father never testified, the girl never testified. When we wrote our story about the tape, the girl and mother and father took a six-month vacation to the south of France. We’d been to the house several times. We’d rung the doorbell. This was an aluminum-siding, lower-middle-class house on the South Side, with a station wagon which is 13 years old—you know what I mean? And now they’re in the south of France. And one time the dad got a credit as a bass player on an R. Kelly album. He didn’t play bass.
The situations are incredibly complicated, and sometimes there is an element of, “We’re gonna exploit this situation for our favor.” That doesn’t mean that it’s legal or it’s right or that girl wasn’t harmed. It tore that family apart.
Family that testified it wasn’t her: Shona (cousin and Reshona’s band mate), Leroy (uncle and Reshona’s band manager), Charlotte (aunt)
Family that stayed silent: Greg (father and guitarist to R Kelly) and Valerie (mother)
Family that testified it was her: Grandmother, aunt Sparkle Edwards, and several others. Also coaches, best friend’s parents, pastor, et al.
Greg Landfair, father
Her father depended on Robert Kelly for work.
This is a video of Greg Landfair. He is in it with his son Greg Landfair Jr. a brother or half-brother to Reshona (he is about 10 years younger than Reshona) who went on to become a drummer, he now is drummer to Chance the Rapper who later collaborated with Robert Kelly in 2015.
Shonna Edwards, cousin and band-mate
Shonna is the woman in the center, Reshona is at far right.
In March 1993, [When Reshona is 8, she will turn 9 in September] the siblings Jason “J-Man” Edwards, his sister Shonna “Miss Lady” Edwards and their cousins Reshona “Shorty” Edwards and Bennie “BJ” Edwards Jr. founded a gospel group, back then called “Young Warriors for Christ.” (Maximedia)
Later called “4 the Cause,” they are a family singing group managed by family members and the band only start having chart success in 1998 the year the “pee tape” was made. (Leroy Edwards, Jr. is one of the managers, he later testifies that the girl in the videotape is not Reshona despite overwhelming evidence.) In the liner notes of their 1998 album, 4 the Cause thanks R. Kelly.
Many identify that girl to be Reshona at age 14. Even though half the family and 40+ people identify the girl to be Reshona, her cousin and bandmate Shonna point blank says it is not Reshona even when faced with overwhelming evidence:
In contrast to Genson, state’s attorney Shauna Boliker performs flawlessly. After a few perfunctory questions to the day’s first witness, the alleged victim’s cousin Shonna Edwards, she begins the show-and-tell portion of the cross-examination. On a giant screen 10 feet from the jury box, the state displays a screenshot from a video put out by the alleged victim’s music group. Shonna identifies her cousin and band mate immediately. A few seconds later, we see a still from the 27-minute sex tape—if memory serves, it’s taken from the very beginning, as Sex-Tape Girl is about to receive a handful of bills from Sex-Tape Man. Shonna says that she doesn’t recognize that person. Boliker then has the photos displayed side by side. Both are profile shots, showing the left side of the alleged victim’s face, her mullet, and a slightly puffy cheek. They look the same. “Is it possible that it could be the same individual?” Boliker asks. “Not at all,” Shonna says. (Slate)
July 21, 2005: Frustrated that prosecutors cannot pinpoint exactly when the tape was made, Judge Gaughan threatens to throw out the case: “Nobody wants to let a monster go free. But nobody wants to convict an innocent individual.”
July 2006: The Kelly trial is delayed when Judge Gaughan suffers injuries after falling from a ladder while working in his home.
Sept. 4, 2007: Trial postponed
Without offering any explanation, Judge Gaughan postpones the trial until 2008.
Dec. 21, 2007: Gaughan scolds Kelly’s tour
Although he is angry that Kelly has embarked on a national concert tour without obtaining the court’s permission—and that his tour bus was stopped by police for going 101 mph in Utah—Judge Gaughan decides that he will not throw the singer in jail and revoke his bond.
Jan. 14, 2008: Judge rejects doctor testimony
Judge Gaughan again rejects the prosecution’s request to have a doctor testify about why the girl in the case would deny that she was the victim
April 11, 2008: Judge holds closed hearing
Judge Gaughan holds a closed hearing to deal with “motions that were filed under seal.” It is one of many sessions over the last six years that have taken place in chambers, away from public scrutiny and with the official record sealed.
April 22, 2008: Chicago press files suit
The Chicago Sun-Times, The Chicago Tribune, the Associated Press, and Chicago Public Media petition Judge Gaughan to make all Kelly-related court records public, release transcripts of several secret hearings, and lift the gag order on the attorneys. The motion also is filed before the Illinois Supreme Court.
May 2008: Lawyers for the paper fail to convince Judge Gaughan, the Illinois Court of Appeals, or the Illinois Supreme Court that the reporter is protected by the First Amendment and the Illinois State Shield Law.
June 18, 2008: Judge throws a party
After years of vowing that he would not allow the Kelly trial to become “a media circus,” Judge Gaughan throws a post-trial party at a bar with invites going out to the defense, the prosecution, court personnel, and reporters who cover the trial: “Dress is casual. Come and celebrate the trial’s conclusion and everyone’s hard work.” Among those who attend: the judge, defense lawyer Sam Adam Jr. (who will go on to represent disgraced Gov. Rod Blagojevich), and prosecutor Shauna Boliker (who will go on to become First Assistant State’s Attorney). “It was a hoot,” says one reporter who attended. “Everyone was loose and relaxed.”
Judge Gaughan is a Vietnam war veteran who had a PTSD episode in 1970 where he fired an unregistered MI rifle nearly killing neighbors and 2 policemen. Read about the judge here.
18 ⚖ 2002
When Reshona is 17, going on 18, the infamous “pee tape” of Robert Kelly raping an underage girl is sent to the Sun Times. Over 40 people in court later identify the girl in the tape as Reshona when she is 13 or 14. Robert Kelly is indicted but it doesn’t go to trial until 2008, 6.5 years later, which is an extraordinary long period, lawyers call it the “victory by delay” tactic.
Feb. 8, 2002: Second videotape sent to DeRogatis The Sun-Times reports that police are investigating another video tape, a 26-minute, 39-second clip that allegedly shows Kelly having sex with an underage girl, [later identified by 40+ people in court as Reshona]. Left anonymously in DeRogatis’ mailbox, editors once again believed the tape could be evidence of a felony and possibly child pornography, and they turned it over to Chicago police within hours of its arrival.
In the video, a man resembling Kelly tells a young girl to call him “daddy”; they have sex; he directs her to strike various poses and assume different positions, and he urinates in her mouth. Before reporting the existence of the tape or the police investigation, the girl is identified for the Sun-Times by her aunt, who said that based on her appearance, her niece would have been about 14 at the time the tape was made. The man in the tape also can be heard referring to the girl by her name, which the newspaper never reports, believing she is a victim of rape. (WBEZ)
16 ⚠ 2000
Robert Kelly refers to Reshona as his “goddaughter” in the liner notes of TP2.com and thanks her parents Greg and Valerie. Greg Landfair is a guitarist on the album.
Lisa Van Allen testifies that she had a threesome with Reshona when Lisa was 18 and Reshona was about 14. From Lisa’s interview with Essence magazine:
Essence.com: When did you meet the girl alleged to be in the video? Van Allen: I met her in ’98 also. I was 18 when I met her. My birthday is in June, so half of ’98 I was 17, and the other half I was 18. I met her at his house for a threesome. That was the first of three times we all had sex together. He videotaped it. He would tell us what to do-to kiss and touch each other, do oral on each other, oral on him. Things like that. It seemed like it was pretty routine for her. She seemed to know what to do. Not to say anything bad about her, but it didn’t seem to bother her. [R. Kelly has denied these allegations in court and was acquitted of all charges against him.]
Essence.com: Did you know how old she was? Van Allen: He told me that she was 16. With me having just turned 18 at that time, it didn’t seem like a big age difference. I didn’t look at it as, “I’m 18, I’m a grown woman.” I saw her as being my age.
Essence.com: How did you find out how old she really was? Van Allen: I didn’t find out until after we’d had our sexual encounters. We were heading to a video shoot in a car together, and she was speaking about her birthday. And she was saying that when she turned 16 she wanted to get a PT Cruiser. She was supposed to have already been 16. And at this time, it was like a year after we had already done what we had done. So it led me to believe she was at least two years younger than she was supposed to have been back then. I was shocked. I felt betrayed because of how close I thought he and I were. I thought he would have been able to be honest with me. I didn’t bring it up or say anything to him about it. I just knew that was a situation I didn’t want to be put in again.
In 1998, Reshona, age 14, and her music group 4 The Cause release a song.
A breakthrough was achieved in 1998 with their cover version of Ben E. King’s song “Stand By Me”. It successfully landed on rank number 2 in the German and Austrian Charts and even climbed to rank number 1 in Switzerland.
In the liner notes of their 1998 album, 4 The Cause thanks R. Kelly.
12 ☎ 1996
Reshona, age 12, is introduced to Robert Kelly, age 29, by Stephanie Edwards, Reshona’s aunt by blood. Stephanie Edwards’ stage name is Sparkle – she had worked with Robert Kelly.
[In Sparkle’s testimony] Though she hadn’t witnessed anything between Kelly and her niece that could be considered inappropriate, Sparkle said she saw hints of things that she didn’t want to acknowledge at the time, “little hints of something, little touches,” that in hindsight concerned her. She said she regretted bringing her niece to Kelly’s studio and later his home — “my mistake,” Sparkle said.
Here is Sparkle in the music video of one of her best known songs Be Careful, released in 1998:
21 ⚠ 2001
Essence.com: When did you finally leave the relationship? Van Allen: I moved back to Atlanta in 2001, when I was 21. The relationship hadn’t actually ended then, but I didn’t talk to him much that year. As I grew up, I realized that staying in Chicago wasn’t the lifestyle for me. I wanted more for myself instead of just sitting around a studio with this married man, doing all the things he wants to do and nothing that I want to do.
27 ⚖ 2007
Lisa Van Allen testifies in the trial about Robert Kelly’s sex tapes. She identifies Robert Kelly and Reshona Landfair in the videos.
20 ⚠ 2000
Essence.com: Is it true that you got pregnant by R. Kelly and had an abortion? Van Allen: Yes. I had the abortion in 2000, right before the “I Wish” video shoot. I was the one braiding his hair in that video. When I told him I was pregnant, he asked me what did I want to do, and I told him I wanted to get an abortion.
Two days after her abortion, Lisa Van Allen was braiding his hair for the I Wish photo shoot.
18 ☎ ⚤ 1998
Essence.com: How did you meet R. Kelly? Van Allen: I met him in Alpharetta, Georgia, at the “Home Alone” video shoot, probably in ’98. I was 17, and he was 31. I was fresh out of high school. My friend’s girlfriend was going to the video shoot, and he didn’t want her to go by herself. I just tagged along with her and ended up being an extra in it.
Essence.com: So how did you go from being an extra to meeting him personally? Van Allen: He sent his cousin over to me. This guy told me his cousin wanted to talk to me. I asked him who his cousin was, and he said, “R. Kelly.” I said, “Okay,” and he arranged for me to be taken back to his trailer. In between the scenes, he came back to the trailer and talked to me. I was very flattered. Out of all the girls at the video shoot, he picked me out of everybody to talk to. We ended up having intercourse.
Essence.com: You had sex with him in the trailer that same day? Van Allen: Yes. He started with a kiss, and from there we leaned back, and I just didn’t stop him. I was kind of worried that he wouldn’t want to see me again after that, but I wasn’t worried about the actual act at that time because I was just honored that he picked me. Being a young girl, I was like, “Wow.” I wasn’t thinking as a woman would. Now that I’m older, things are different. I would never go that route today. As a child, you don’t make all the right decisions. That’s why young girls shouldn’t be involved with grown men.
Essence.com: So do you feel like he seduced you? Van Allen: No, I don’t feel like he seduced me. He was just being really nice, and I was basically going along with whatever he wanted to do. We didn’t talk about much. He was just asking me my name and how old I was. When I said my age, he asked me if my mom would let me come to Chicago and visit. I told him, “Yeah.”
Essence.com: How did your relationship with R. Kelly evolve from there? Van Allen: I actually didn’t call him for about a month, because I didn’t know what to say to him. When I did finally call him, he got straight to the point and said, “When can you come up here?” I visited him maybe twice in Chicago before I moved there. He would tell me, “Don’t leave yet; I want to talk to you.” I kept missing my flights back home and missed days from my job at the mall. So I ended up quitting my job and moved to Chicago.
Essence.com: Where did you live? Van Allen: I stayed at the studio the majority of the time, but I also had a hotel room. He was always at the studio. He had closets full of clothes there, a bed, a refrigerator, a big-screen TV, a shower, the whole works. You would think it was a mini apartment.
Essence.com: Did you feel emotionally connected with him, or was it mostly a sexual relationship? Van Allen: I thought we were really good friends and were really close. Once I moved up there, we did everything together. He’d be in the studio recording; I’d be there. He’d go to video shoots; I’d be there. He even went to get a colon cleanse, and I went with him. It wasn’t only sexual, but sex was a major part.
Essence.com: Was he very controlling when it came to sex? Van Allen: Yeah. He would always tell you what to do. You’d come into a situation where he’d want to have sex, and he’d coach you through the whole thing. He’d tell you which way to lie, which way to turn, what noises to make, how loud to moan, how to roll your body around. It was weird, but being that I was so young I still didn’t know what was the right way to do things sexually. I was still learning. He was a man, so I just followed his lead. I figured he knew more about this stuff, and that this is how it’s supposed to go.
Essence.com: One of the more appalling aspects of the tape at the center of the trial is that the man peed on the girl in the video. Is that something R. Kelly did with you? Van Allen: No, he never asked me to do that. We had never had a conversation about it, and he never tried to do that with me.
Essence.com: Given the age difference, I’m curious about what you felt you had in common with him. Van Allen: See, that’s the thing-he doesn’t act his age. His conversations are pretty much on a 17- or 18-year-old’s grade level. He would crack jokes a lot. We would go to McDonald’s all the time. He liked to go to Hoops, a basketball gym, every night. He would go to the mall a lot. So he was basically doing what kids that age were doing. Hoops Gym and a map with Robert Kelly’s home at 1010 W George St, his recording studio Chicago Trax, the Rock n; Roll McDonald’s, and Hoops Basketball Gym. Essence.com: Did you consider him to be your boyfriend? Van Allen: In my head I did, until I found out later that he was married.
Essence.com: How did you find out he was married? Van Allen: One night when he was in the studio recording, one of his runners came in and said, “Your wife’s on the line.” Rob [R. Kelly; Van Allen also calls him Robert] got upset and walked him out in the hallway and cussed him out. We never saw that runner again. From then on, his runners never said “your wife.” They always said, “You have an important call.” But I was sitting right there. I was upset, but I tried not to show it. I thought I was the closest woman to him, and I thought we had a little relationship going. It crushed my dreams of what was going on.
Robert Kelly pictured with his wife Andrea Kelly.
Essence.com: Did the two of you discuss his wife after that? Van Allen: He would bring her up, but I never asked him “Why are you with her?” or “Why didn’t you tell me?” He would just try to downplay the situation-“I wish I met you before I married her” or “You remind me of her, but you look so much better.” Things like that. He would try to make me feel good about the situation.
Essence.com: So finding out he was married didn’t end the relationship? Van Allen: No. I was already living up there, probably for about six months at that time. We were supposedly in love; he would tell me he loved me. So no, it didn’t end. I was young.
Essence.com: Have you ever met his wife? Van Allen: I haven’t met her like “How are you doing?” But we’ve checked into hotels at the same time. She’s been in the studio at the same time as me, and we’ve crossed paths. But I was never introduced to her. I don’t think she knew who I was to him, but she definitely knew that I was around a lot. I don’t know much about how their relationship works. He was around me a lot, so they would have to have had separate lives.
Essence.com: In Chicago, how did you support yourself? Did you have a job? Van Allen: No, he took care of everything. I did whatever he was doing. The day would start in the evening. We’d get a bite to eat, he’d record a little, then we’d go to Hoops. Then we’d go to McDonald’s. He’d record through the whole night, and then we’d sleep all morning.
Essence.com: About his alleged attraction for teenage girls-is that true? Van Allen: We never had a conversation about him preferring teenage girls, but yes. Just from me, and the situation supposedly with the singer who’s passed-
Essence.com: You mean, his marriage to Aaliyah when she was 15? Van Allen: Yes. And the situation we had with the younger girl [the girl who was allegedly in the video, who was at the center of the trial]. There would never be any older women around, women his age. It would always be girls my age at that time.
Essence.com: When did you meet the girl alleged to be in the video? Van Allen: I met her in ’98 also. I was 18 when I met her. My birthday is in June, so half of ’98 I was 17, and the other half I was 18. I met her at his house for a threesome. That was the first of three times we all had sex together. He videotaped it. He would tell us what to do-to kiss and touch each other, do oral on each other, oral on him. Things like that. It seemed like it was pretty routine for her. She seemed to know what to do. Not to say anything bad about her, but it didn’t seem to bother her. [R. Kelly has denied these allegations in court and was acquitted of all charges against him.]
Essence.com: Did you know how old she was? Van Allen: He told me that she was 16. With me having just turned 18 at that time, it didn’t seem like a big age difference. I didn’t look at it as, “I’m 18, I’m a grown woman.” I saw her as being my age.
Essence.com: How did you find out how old she really was? Van Allen: I didn’t find out until after we’d had our sexual encounters. We were heading to a video shoot in a car together, and she was speaking about her birthday. And she was saying that when she turned 16 she wanted to get a PT Cruiser. She was supposed to have already been 16. And at this time, it was like a year after we had already done what we had done. So it led me to believe she was at least two years younger than she was supposed to have been back then. I was shocked. I felt betrayed because of how close I thought he and I were. I thought he would have been able to be honest with me. I didn’t bring it up or say anything to him about it. I just knew that was a situation I didn’t want to be put in again.
Essence.com: You had never suspected she was younger than 16? Van Allen: Not at that time, no. She acted like she was my age. And she was developed more than me. I just didn’t know.
Essence.com: During the trial, you said that you cried during one of your threesomes. Van Allen: Yeah, I did.
Essence.com: Why were you crying? Van Allen: Because, like I said in these situations, Rob-[Pause]
Essence.com: Hello? Van Allen: Yes, I’m here. [Tearfully] Because I really didn’t want to do it. I didn’t want to have sex with him and any other women. But it would be things that he wanted. If you didn’t want to do it, he would always tell you if you love him, then you shouldn’t try to change him. You should be able to accept him how he is. Being that I was young, I thought that was love. That it’s okay because I love him, and I should be able to do this for him. And I just couldn’t hide my feelings sometimes. Then he’d get upset at me for being upset. I still cry about it. It’s not a good situation to be in, when you love someone and you want to make them happy, but to make them happy you have to do something that you don’t want to do.
Essence.com: Why were you so against doing it? Van Allen: It was uncomfortable, because he was coaching you and telling you everything to do. Along with that, I didn’t want to share him. When you love somebody, you don’t want somebody else to be with him. I was still young and trying to understand what love is and how I should feel.
Essence.com: What did you think would happen if you said no? Van Allen: I didn’t know. I was young, and being that he was taking care of me and paying all my bills, and I was living under him, I had no idea what would happen. I just didn’t want to upset him.
Essence.com: Did you have a friendship with the girl? Did you two ever talk about what was going on? Van Allen: No, we didn’t. We went to video shoots with him, and there were times when we went to the movies with him. But it was never like she and I would be giggling and laughing. We weren’t friends.
Lisa Van Allen
Lisa Van Allen met Robert Kelly when she was 17 and he was 31 in 1998 when she was an extra in one of his music videos. That same year she states she had threesomes with Robert Kelly and 14 year old Reshona Edwards Landfair. She clearly recounts his controlling behavior. She was pregnant with Robert Kelly’s child in 2000 when she was 20 and had an abortion paid for by Robert Kelly. She left Robert Kelly when she was about 21. She was the star witness in the sex tape trial and gave testimony in 2008, when she was 27.
18 ☎ ⚤ 1998
Essence.com: How did you meet R. Kelly? Van Allen: I met him in Alpharetta, Georgia, at the “Home Alone” video shoot, probably in ’98. I was 17, and he was 31. I was fresh out of high school. My friend’s girlfriend was going to the video shoot, and he didn’t want her to go by herself. I just tagged along with her and ended up being an extra in it.
Essence.com: So how did you go from being an extra to meeting him personally? Van Allen: He sent his cousin over to me. This guy told me his cousin wanted to talk to me. I asked him who his cousin was, and he said, “R. Kelly.” I said, “Okay,” and he arranged for me to be taken back to his trailer. In between the scenes, he came back to the trailer and talked to me. I was very flattered. Out of all the girls at the video shoot, he picked me out of everybody to talk to. We ended up having intercourse.
Essence.com: You had sex with him in the trailer that same day? Van Allen: Yes. He started with a kiss, and from there we leaned back, and I just didn’t stop him. I was kind of worried that he wouldn’t want to see me again after that, but I wasn’t worried about the actual act at that time because I was just honored that he picked me. Being a young girl, I was like, “Wow.” I wasn’t thinking as a woman would. Now that I’m older, things are different. I would never go that route today. As a child, you don’t make all the right decisions. That’s why young girls shouldn’t be involved with grown men.
Essence.com: So do you feel like he seduced you? Van Allen: No, I don’t feel like he seduced me. He was just being really nice, and I was basically going along with whatever he wanted to do. We didn’t talk about much. He was just asking me my name and how old I was. When I said my age, he asked me if my mom would let me come to Chicago and visit. I told him, “Yeah.”
Essence.com: How did your relationship with R. Kelly evolve from there? Van Allen: I actually didn’t call him for about a month, because I didn’t know what to say to him. When I did finally call him, he got straight to the point and said, “When can you come up here?” I visited him maybe twice in Chicago before I moved there. He would tell me, “Don’t leave yet; I want to talk to you.” I kept missing my flights back home and missed days from my job at the mall. So I ended up quitting my job and moved to Chicago.
Essence.com: Where did you live? Van Allen: I stayed at the studio the majority of the time, but I also had a hotel room. He was always at the studio. He had closets full of clothes there, a bed, a refrigerator, a big-screen TV, a shower, the whole works. You would think it was a mini apartment.
Essence.com: Did you feel emotionally connected with him, or was it mostly a sexual relationship? Van Allen: I thought we were really good friends and were really close. Once I moved up there, we did everything together. He’d be in the studio recording; I’d be there. He’d go to video shoots; I’d be there. He even went to get a colon cleanse, and I went with him. It wasn’t only sexual, but sex was a major part.
Essence.com: Was he very controlling when it came to sex? Van Allen: Yeah. He would always tell you what to do. You’d come into a situation where he’d want to have sex, and he’d coach you through the whole thing. He’d tell you which way to lie, which way to turn, what noises to make, how loud to moan, how to roll your body around. It was weird, but being that I was so young I still didn’t know what was the right way to do things sexually. I was still learning. He was a man, so I just followed his lead. I figured he knew more about this stuff, and that this is how it’s supposed to go.
Essence.com: One of the more appalling aspects of the tape at the center of the trial is that the man peed on the girl in the video. Is that something R. Kelly did with you? Van Allen: No, he never asked me to do that. We had never had a conversation about it, and he never tried to do that with me.
Essence.com: Given the age difference, I’m curious about what you felt you had in common with him. Van Allen: See, that’s the thing-he doesn’t act his age. His conversations are pretty much on a 17- or 18-year-old’s grade level. He would crack jokes a lot. We would go to McDonald’s all the time. He liked to go to Hoops, a basketball gym, every night. He would go to the mall a lot. So he was basically doing what kids that age were doing.
Hoops Gym and a map with Robert Kelly’s home at 1010 W George St, his recording studio Chicago Trax, the Rock n; Roll McDonald’s, and Hoops Basketball Gym Essence.com: Did you consider him to be your boyfriend? Van Allen: In my head I did, until I found out later that he was married.
Essence.com: How did you find out he was married? Van Allen: One night when he was in the studio recording, one of his runners came in and said, “Your wife’s on the line.” Rob [R. Kelly; Van Allen also calls him Robert] got upset and walked him out in the hallway and cussed him out. We never saw that runner again. From then on, his runners never said “your wife.” They always said, “You have an important call.” But I was sitting right there. I was upset, but I tried not to show it. I thought I was the closest woman to him, and I thought we had a little relationship going. It crushed my dreams of what was going on.
Robert Kelly pictured with his wife Andrea Kelly.
Essence.com: Did the two of you discuss his wife after that? Van Allen: He would bring her up, but I never asked him “Why are you with her?” or “Why didn’t you tell me?” He would just try to downplay the situation-“I wish I met you before I married her” or “You remind me of her, but you look so much better.” Things like that. He would try to make me feel good about the situation.
Essence.com: So finding out he was married didn’t end the relationship? Van Allen: No. I was already living up there, probably for about six months at that time. We were supposedly in love; he would tell me he loved me. So no, it didn’t end. I was young.
Essence.com: Have you ever met his wife? Van Allen: I haven’t met her like “How are you doing?” But we’ve checked into hotels at the same time. She’s been in the studio at the same time as me, and we’ve crossed paths. But I was never introduced to her. I don’t think she knew who I was to him, but she definitely knew that I was around a lot. I don’t know much about how their relationship works. He was around me a lot, so they would have to have had separate lives.
Essence.com: In Chicago, how did you support yourself? Did you have a job? Van Allen: No, he took care of everything. I did whatever he was doing. The day would start in the evening. We’d get a bite to eat, he’d record a little, then we’d go to Hoops. Then we’d go to McDonald’s. He’d record through the whole night, and then we’d sleep all morning.
Essence.com: About his alleged attraction for teenage girls-is that true? Van Allen: We never had a conversation about him preferring teenage girls, but yes. Just from me, and the situation supposedly with the singer who’s passed-
Essence.com: You mean, his marriage to Aaliyah when she was 15? Van Allen: Yes. And the situation we had with the younger girl [the girl who was allegedly in the video, who was at the center of the trial]. There would never be any older women around, women his age. It would always be girls my age at that time.
Essence.com: When did you meet the girl alleged to be in the video? Van Allen: I met her in ’98 also. I was 18 when I met her. My birthday is in June, so half of ’98 I was 17, and the other half I was 18. I met her at his house for a threesome. That was the first of three times we all had sex together. He videotaped it. He would tell us what to do-to kiss and touch each other, do oral on each other, oral on him. Things like that. It seemed like it was pretty routine for her. She seemed to know what to do. Not to say anything bad about her, but it didn’t seem to bother her. [R. Kelly has denied these allegations in court and was acquitted of all charges against him.]
Essence.com: Did you know how old she was? Van Allen: He told me that she was 16. With me having just turned 18 at that time, it didn’t seem like a big age difference. I didn’t look at it as, “I’m 18, I’m a grown woman.” I saw her as being my age.
Essence.com: How did you find out how old she really was? Van Allen: I didn’t find out until after we’d had our sexual encounters. We were heading to a video shoot in a car together, and she was speaking about her birthday. And she was saying that when she turned 16 she wanted to get a PT Cruiser. She was supposed to have already been 16. And at this time, it was like a year after we had already done what we had done. So it led me to believe she was at least two years younger than she was supposed to have been back then. I was shocked. I felt betrayed because of how close I thought he and I were. I thought he would have been able to be honest with me. I didn’t bring it up or say anything to him about it. I just knew that was a situation I didn’t want to be put in again.
Essence.com: You had never suspected she was younger than 16? Van Allen: Not at that time, no. She acted like she was my age. And she was developed more than me. I just didn’t know.
Essence.com: During the trial, you said that you cried during one of your threesomes. Van Allen: Yeah, I did.
Essence.com: Why were you crying? Van Allen: Because, like I said in these situations, Rob-[Pause]
Essence.com: Hello? Van Allen: Yes, I’m here. [Tearfully] Because I really didn’t want to do it. I didn’t want to have sex with him and any other women. But it would be things that he wanted. If you didn’t want to do it, he would always tell you if you love him, then you shouldn’t try to change him. You should be able to accept him how he is. Being that I was young, I thought that was love. That it’s okay because I love him, and I should be able to do this for him. And I just couldn’t hide my feelings sometimes. Then he’d get upset at me for being upset. I still cry about it. It’s not a good situation to be in, when you love someone and you want to make them happy, but to make them happy you have to do something that you don’t want to do.
Essence.com: Why were you so against doing it? Van Allen: It was uncomfortable, because he was coaching you and telling you everything to do. Along with that, I didn’t want to share him. When you love somebody, you don’t want somebody else to be with him. I was still young and trying to understand what love is and how I should feel.
Essence.com: What did you think would happen if you said no? Van Allen: I didn’t know. I was young, and being that he was taking care of me and paying all my bills, and I was living under him, I had no idea what would happen. I just didn’t want to upset him.
Essence.com: Did you have a friendship with the girl? Did you two ever talk about what was going on? Van Allen: No, we didn’t. We went to video shoots with him, and there were times when we went to the movies with him. But it was never like she and I would be giggling and laughing. We weren’t friends.
20 ⚠ 2000
Essence.com: Is it true that you got pregnant by R. Kelly and had an abortion? Van Allen: Yes. I had the abortion in 2000, right before the “I Wish” video shoot. I was the one braiding his hair in that video. When I told him I was pregnant, he asked me what did I want to do, and I told him I wanted to get an abortion.
Two days after her abortion, Lisa Van Allen was braiding his hair for the I Wish photo shoot.
21 ⚠ 2001
Essence.com: When did you finally leave the relationship? Van Allen: I moved back to Atlanta in 2001, when I was 21. The relationship hadn’t actually ended then, but I didn’t talk to him much that year. As I grew up, I realized that staying in Chicago wasn’t the lifestyle for me. I wanted more for myself instead of just sitting around a studio with this married man, doing all the things he wants to do and nothing that I want to do.
27 ⚖ 2007
Lisa Van Allen testifies in the trial about Robert Kelly’s sex tapes. She identifies Robert Kelly and Reshona Landfair in the videos.
Reshona Edwards Landfair
Like many of Robert Kelly’s victims, Reshona was an aspiring singer introduced to him via a trusted music mentor and/or relative, in this case Reshona’s aunt Sparkle Edwards. Reshona was 12 when she met Robert Kelly, age 29. Robert calls Reshona his goddaughter. Sparkle later says the introduction was a huge mistake and wishes it had never happened.
The infamous “pee” tape was made in 1998 when Reshona was 13 or 14. It is 26 minutes 39 seconds. The man (many identify as Robert Kelly) tells a young girl (many identify as Reshona) to call him “daddy,” they have sex, he directs her to strike various poses and assume various poses, and he urinates in her mouth.
Village Voice: “The other thing, the thing that people seem to not know: She was fresh out of eighth grade in this tape.”
Jim DeRogotis: “Fourteen or fifteen. That puts a perspective on it. She’s not sophisticated enough to know what her kinks are.”
1998 is also the year, according to Lisa Van Allen, that Reshona had several threesomes with Robert Kelly and Lisa. Lisa was 18 and said that Robert Kelly told her that Reshona was 16, Lisa later finds out that Reshona is 14 or 13.
Essence: When did you meet the girl alleged to be in the video? Van Allen: I met her in ’98 also. I was 18 when I met her. My birthday is in June, so half of ’98 I was 17, and the other half I was 18. I met her at his house for a threesome. That was the first of three times we all had sex together. He videotaped it. He would tell us what to do-to kiss and touch each other, do oral on each other, oral on him.
Reshona’s family was entrenched in Robert Kelly’s world:
Reshona’s aunt, Sparkle, made a platinum album produced by Robert Kelly in 1998.
Reshona, her cousin Shonna Edwards, her cousin Jason Edwards and her cousin Bennie Edwards Jr. were in a band together called 4 the Cause that released an album in 1998 with a thank you in the liner notes to R.Kelly. One of the songs is #1 in Switzerland.
Her uncle Leroy Edwards, Jr. is manager of that band.
Her father Greg Landfair was guitarist on several of Robert Kelly’s albums.
Her brother/half-brother Greg Landfair Jr is a drummer who found success as drummer for Chance the Rapper who collaborated with Robert Kelly in 2015.
The family band “4 the Cause” – Reshona is far right.
In 2000, Reshona, her father Greg, and her mother Valerie are all thanked in R. Kelly’s liner notes in TP-2.COM album. Reshona is called his “goddaughter.” Greg is credited several times as a guitarist on that album, and once as a bassist, though reporter DeRogatis points out that he did not play bass, perhaps implying that the Greg was already being “taken care of” by Robert Kelly in an effort to hide Robert Kelly’s indiscretions with Reshona.
In 2002, the tape landed at The Chicago Sun-Times and they sent it to the police. Robert Kelly was indicted, but the trial was delayed by over 6 years.
In 2008, Sparkle testified that the girl in the tape was Reshona. Also, other family members, family friends, friends, coaches, etc. – over 40 people – testify that the girl in the tape is Reshona.
3 family members testify that it is not Reshona – Shonna (band mate), Leroy (band manager), and an aunt Charlotte.
Reshona and her parents, Greg (R. Kelly guitarist) and Valerie do not testify. Reporter Jim DeRegotis says the 3 of them went to the South of France. “When we wrote our story about the tape, the girl and mother and father took a six-month vacation to the south of France. We’d been to the house several times. We’d rung the doorbell. This was an aluminum-siding, lower-middle-class house on the South Side, with a station wagon which is 13 years old — you know what I mean? And now they’re in the south of France. And one time the dad got a credit as a bass player on an R. Kelly album. He didn’t play bass.” (Village Voice, 2013)
12 ☎ 1996
Reshona, age 12, is introduced to Robert Kelly, age 29, by Stephanie Edwards, Reshona’s aunt by blood. Stephanie Edwards’ stage name is Sparkle – she had worked with Robert Kelly.
[In Sparkle’s testimony] Though she hadn’t witnessed anything between Kelly and her niece that could be considered inappropriate, Sparkle said she saw hints of things that she didn’t want to acknowledge at the time, “little hints of something, little touches,” that in hindsight concerned her. She said she regretted bringing her niece to Kelly’s studio and later his home — “my mistake,” Sparkle said.
Here is Sparkle in the music video of one of her best known songs Be Careful, released in 1998:
Lisa Van Allen testifies that she had a threesome with Reshona when Lisa was 18 and Reshona was about 14. From Lisa’s interview with Essence magazine:
Essence.com: When did you meet the girl alleged to be in the video? Van Allen: I met her in ’98 also. I was 18 when I met her. My birthday is in June, so half of ’98 I was 17, and the other half I was 18. I met her at his house for a threesome. That was the first of three times we all had sex together. He videotaped it. He would tell us what to do-to kiss and touch each other, do oral on each other, oral on him. Things like that. It seemed like it was pretty routine for her. She seemed to know what to do. Not to say anything bad about her, but it didn’t seem to bother her. [R. Kelly has denied these allegations in court and was acquitted of all charges against him.]
Essence.com: Did you know how old she was? Van Allen: He told me that she was 16. With me having just turned 18 at that time, it didn’t seem like a big age difference. I didn’t look at it as, “I’m 18, I’m a grown woman.” I saw her as being my age.
Essence.com: How did you find out how old she really was? Van Allen: I didn’t find out until after we’d had our sexual encounters. We were heading to a video shoot in a car together, and she was speaking about her birthday. And she was saying that when she turned 16 she wanted to get a PT Cruiser. She was supposed to have already been 16. And at this time, it was like a year after we had already done what we had done. So it led me to believe she was at least two years younger than she was supposed to have been back then. I was shocked. I felt betrayed because of how close I thought he and I were. I thought he would have been able to be honest with me. I didn’t bring it up or say anything to him about it. I just knew that was a situation I didn’t want to be put in again.
In 1998, Reshona, age 14, and her music group 4 The Cause release a song.
A breakthrough was achieved in 1998 with their cover version of Ben E. King’s song “Stand By Me”. It successfully landed on rank number 2 in the German and Austrian Charts and even climbed to rank number 1 in Switzerland.
In the liner notes of their 1998 album, 4 The Cause thanks R. Kelly.
16 ⚠ 2000
Robert Kelly refers to Reshona as his “goddaughter” in the liner notes of TP2.com and thanks her parents Greg and Valerie. Greg Landfair is a guitarist on the album.
18 ⚖ 2002
When Reshona is 17, going on 18, the infamous “pee tape” of Robert Kelly raping an underage girl is sent to the Sun Times. Over 40 people in court later identify the girl in the tape as Reshona when she is 13 or 14. Robert Kelly is indicted but it doesn’t go to trial until 2008, 6.5 years later, which is an extraordinary long period, lawyers call it the “victory by delay” tactic.
Feb. 8, 2002: Second videotape sent to DeRogatis The Sun-Times reports that police are investigating another video tape, a 26-minute, 39-second clip that allegedly shows Kelly having sex with an underage girl, [later identified by 40+ people in court as Reshona]. Left anonymously in DeRogatis’ mailbox, editors once again believed the tape could be evidence of a felony and possibly child pornography, and they turned it over to Chicago police within hours of its arrival.
In the video, a man resembling Kelly tells a young girl to call him “daddy”; they have sex; he directs her to strike various poses and assume different positions, and he urinates in her mouth. Before reporting the existence of the tape or the police investigation, the girl is identified for the Sun-Times by her aunt, who said that based on her appearance, her niece would have been about 14 at the time the tape was made. The man in the tape also can be heard referring to the girl by her name, which the newspaper never reports, believing she is a victim of rape. (WBEZ)
24 ⚖ 2008 June 14, 2008: When Reshona is 23 going on 24, and Robert Kelly is 41, he is found not guilty.
6.5 years after Robert Kelly is indicted, which is an extraordinary long period, lawyers call it the “victory by delay” tactic – Robert Kelly is tried and found not guilty.
After one day of deliberations, Kelly is found not guilty on all counts. In interviews with the media outside the court, jurors say they were certain that Kelly was the man on the tape, but they could not be certain about the identity of the girl, hence they could not be sure about her age and whether the video really was child pornography.
“And some 40 people testified that it was her?” Jim DeRogatis: Yeah. Coaches, best friend’s parents, pastor, half the family, grandmother, aunt–but the mother and father never testified, the girl never testified. When we wrote our story about the tape, the girl and mother and father took a six-month vacation to the south of France. We’d been to the house several times. We’d rung the doorbell. This was an aluminum-siding, lower-middle-class house on the South Side, with a station wagon which is 13 years old—you know what I mean? And now they’re in the south of France. And one time the dad got a credit as a bass player on an R. Kelly album. He didn’t play bass.
The situations are incredibly complicated, and sometimes there is an element of, “We’re gonna exploit this situation for our favor.” That doesn’t mean that it’s legal or it’s right or that girl wasn’t harmed. It tore that family apart.
Family that testified it wasn’t her: Shona (cousin and Reshona’s band mate), Leroy (uncle and Reshona’s band manager), Charlotte (aunt)
Family that stayed silent: Greg (father and guitarist to R Kelly) and Valerie (mother)
Family that testified it was her: Grandmother, aunt Sparkle Edwards, and several others. Also coaches, best friend’s parents, pastor, et al.
Greg Landfair, father
Her father depended on Robert Kelly for work.
This is a video of Greg Landfair. He is in it with his son Greg Landfair Jr. a brother or half-brother to Reshona (he is about 10 years younger than Reshona) who went on to become a drummer, he now is drummer to Chance the Rapper who later collaborated with Robert Kelly in 2015.
Shonna Edwards, cousin and band-mate
Shonna is the woman in the center, Reshona is at far right.
In March 1993, [When Reshona is 8, she will turn 9 in September] the siblings Jason “J-Man” Edwards, his sister Shonna “Miss Lady” Edwards and their cousins Reshona “Shorty” Edwards and Bennie “BJ” Edwards Jr. founded a gospel group, back then called “Young Warriors for Christ.” (Maximedia)
Later called “4 the Cause,” they are a family singing group managed by family members and the band only start having chart success in 1998 the year the “pee tape” was made. (Leroy Edwards, Jr. is one of the managers, he later testifies that the girl in the videotape is not Reshona despite overwhelming evidence.) In the liner notes of their 1998 album, 4 the Cause thanks R. Kelly.
Many identify that girl to be Reshona at age 14. Even though half the family and 40+ people identify the girl to be Reshona, her cousin and bandmate Shonna point blank says it is not Reshona even when faced with overwhelming evidence:
In contrast to Genson, state’s attorney Shauna Boliker performs flawlessly. After a few perfunctory questions to the day’s first witness, the alleged victim’s cousin Shonna Edwards, she begins the show-and-tell portion of the cross-examination. On a giant screen 10 feet from the jury box, the state displays a screenshot from a video put out by the alleged victim’s music group. Shonna identifies her cousin and band mate immediately. A few seconds later, we see a still from the 27-minute sex tape—if memory serves, it’s taken from the very beginning, as Sex-Tape Girl is about to receive a handful of bills from Sex-Tape Man. Shonna says that she doesn’t recognize that person. Boliker then has the photos displayed side by side. Both are profile shots, showing the left side of the alleged victim’s face, her mullet, and a slightly puffy cheek. They look the same. “Is it possible that it could be the same individual?” Boliker asks. “Not at all,” Shonna says. (Slate)
July 21, 2005: Frustrated that prosecutors cannot pinpoint exactly when the tape was made, Judge Gaughan threatens to throw out the case: “Nobody wants to let a monster go free. But nobody wants to convict an innocent individual.”
July 2006: The Kelly trial is delayed when Judge Gaughan suffers injuries after falling from a ladder while working in his home.
Sept. 4, 2007: Trial postponed
Without offering any explanation, Judge Gaughan postpones the trial until 2008.
Dec. 21, 2007: Gaughan scolds Kelly’s tour
Although he is angry that Kelly has embarked on a national concert tour without obtaining the court’s permission—and that his tour bus was stopped by police for going 101 mph in Utah—Judge Gaughan decides that he will not throw the singer in jail and revoke his bond.
Jan. 14, 2008: Judge rejects doctor testimony
Judge Gaughan again rejects the prosecution’s request to have a doctor testify about why the girl in the case would deny that she was the victim
April 11, 2008: Judge holds closed hearing
Judge Gaughan holds a closed hearing to deal with “motions that were filed under seal.” It is one of many sessions over the last six years that have taken place in chambers, away from public scrutiny and with the official record sealed.
April 22, 2008: Chicago press files suit
The Chicago Sun-Times, The Chicago Tribune, the Associated Press, and Chicago Public Media petition Judge Gaughan to make all Kelly-related court records public, release transcripts of several secret hearings, and lift the gag order on the attorneys. The motion also is filed before the Illinois Supreme Court.
May 2008: Lawyers for the paper fail to convince Judge Gaughan, the Illinois Court of Appeals, or the Illinois Supreme Court that the reporter is protected by the First Amendment and the Illinois State Shield Law.
June 18, 2008: Judge throws a party
After years of vowing that he would not allow the Kelly trial to become “a media circus,” Judge Gaughan throws a post-trial party at a bar with invites going out to the defense, the prosecution, court personnel, and reporters who cover the trial: “Dress is casual. Come and celebrate the trial’s conclusion and everyone’s hard work.” Among those who attend: the judge, defense lawyer Sam Adam Jr. (who will go on to represent disgraced Gov. Rod Blagojevich), and prosecutor Shauna Boliker (who will go on to become First Assistant State’s Attorney). “It was a hoot,” says one reporter who attended. “Everyone was loose and relaxed.”
Judge Gaughan is a Vietnam war veteran who had a PTSD episode in 1970 where he fired an unregistered MI rifle nearly killing neighbors and 2 policemen. Read about the judge here.
Den Mother
Photo of Reshona, approximately age 14, from her music video Stand By Me (1998)
A 31-year-old “Den Mother” who “trained” newcomers on how Kelly liked to be pleasured sexually. She had been best friends since high school with Reshona, the girl in the “pee” tape for which Kelly was tried in 2008. We put “Den Mother” next to Reshona’s column so you can note that she and Reshona are less than a year apart in age. “Den Mother” recently parted ways with Kelly.
According to Mack, Jones, and McGee, the women living in Kelly’s Duluth, Georgia, “guest house” or his Chicago recording studio last summer included:
[Reshona’s best friend] A 31-year-old “den mother” who “trained” newcomers on how Kelly liked to be pleasured sexually. She had been best friends since high school with the girl in the videotape for which Kelly was tried in 2008. She recently parted ways with Kelly, these sources say.
A 25-year-old woman who also has been part of Kelly’s scene for seven years.
[Halle Calhoun] A recent arrival, a 19-year-old model who has been photographed in public with Kelly and named on music gossip websites — a rarity among the women in his circle.
[Vonecia Adams? Needs confirmation.] An Atlanta songwriter who began her relationship with Kelly around 2009, when she was 19. (She is now 26.)
[FL Girl/Woman] And an 18-year-old singer from Polk County, Florida. Mack said the Florida singer is Kelly’s “favorite — his number-one girl.”
12 ☎ Aaliyah meets R. Kelly
Aaliyah, age 12, is introduced to Robert Kelly, age 24, by his manager Barry Hankerson who is also Aaliyah’s blood uncle once married to superstar singer Gladys Knight (both pictured at left). Aaliyah becomes Robert Kelly’s protégé. Below is video footage of her at age 10 on Star Search.
15 ⚠ Aaliyah marries R. Kelly
Aaliyah, age 15, below the age of consent, and Robert Kelly, age 27, illegally get married in Illinois, on August 31, 1994, writing her age down as 18.
The GQ 2016 interview states, “The fullest version of what may have happened—and the most convincing one, for all its incidental detail and accidental nuance—is in a rambling memoir by a man named Demetrius Smith, who worked in various capacities for Kelly before and after he became famous, until they had a falling out. The week of the marriage, Smith recounts being in Miami on tour with Kelly, and how Kelly explained that he had received a distraught phone call from Aaliyah, saying she had run away from home, believing she was pregnant. Smith says that Kelly was then given some specious advice—that he could protect himself from the legal ramifications of the situation by marrying her. Smith’s account of what happened next: During a break in the tour, Smith and Kelly flew together to Illinois; Smith procured a fake state ID for Aaliyah from a friend in the Public Aid office, and they got a backup ID through someone they knew at Federal Express. That night, after the ceremony in a suite at a Sheraton hotel, Kelly and Smith flew back to Miami to resume the tour.”
21 ⚠ Early 2000: Hankerson’s letter
More than five years after the Robert Kelly’s illegal marriage with Aaliyah, her uncle Barry Hankerson resigns as Kelly’s manager. “He writes a letter to the star’s attorney that says he believes Kelly needs psychiatric help for his compulsion to pursue underage girls. Hankerson has never spoken publicly about Kelly, but his attorney confirmed the substance of the letter in an interview with the Sun-Times.” (WBEZ)
Here is a video of Aaliyah from 2000 with Beyonce:
The Daily Mail writes, “The Lemonade star was just 18 years old and three years shy of her Crazy In Love success when she got a chance to speak to her idol at the 2000 MTV VMAs. Beyonce was clearly the gushing fan and Aaliyah the gracious professional as the two chatted on camera during the pre-show.”
22 ⚠ August 25, 2001
Aaliyah, 22, dies in a plane crash on a plane traveling from the Bahamas to Florida. She had just completed filming a music video for her song “Rock the Boat.” She and 8 others on board were all killed.
In an interview with GQ in 2016, Robert Kelly dodges questions by saying it is purely out of respect to Aaliyah’s memory and family:
GQ: As you know, people know that there was a wedding ceremony and you got married. Robert Kelly: Well, because of Aaliyah’s passing, as I’ve always said, out of respect for her mother who’s sick and her father who’s passed, I will never have that conversation with anyone. Out of respect for Aaliyah, and her mother and father who has asked me not to personally. But I can tell you I loved her, I can tell you she loved me, we was very close. We were, you know, best best best best friends.
GQ: But here’s what seems difficult from the outside. Sadly, Aaliyah can’t speak for herself, and people have what they think is a very clear idea of the situation—that the two of you got married, that you were having a sexual relationship. Right now, that’s the record as far as people are concerned. Those are the facts. Robert Kelly: Right.
GQ: So you not talking about it doesn’t feel like it’s protecting her or respecting her, it just feels like it’s protecting you. Robert Kelly: Yeah, yeah. You know, I tell you this: I know Aaliyah’s not here and can’t speak for herself, but there was a time that she was plenty here, after that rumor and all of that stuff started. Plenty grown. She was 22 and could speak for herself. Her mother, her father, anybody else, could speak and say whatever they wanted.
Aaliyah Dana Haughton
A renowned singer, Aaliyah was introduced to Robert Kelly when she was 12 and he was 24 by her uncle Barry Hankerson, considered a legend in the music industry and was manager to Robert Kelly. Robert Kelly is to be her music mentor and produced her platinum album Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number. Robert Kelly possibly raped Aaliyah when she was age 12 until age 15, when they got an illegal marriage. GQ indicates that a likely explanation is provided by Robert Kelly’s employee at the time Demetrius Smith who writes in his book that Aaliyah called Robert Kelly and said she was pregnant and running away from home. Taking specious advice, Robert Kelly married her in Illinois, where the age of consent is 17. He lies on the marriage certificate that she is 18. After this marriage, her parents had it annulled and they did not see each other again. She died at age 22 in a plane crash.
12 ☎ Aaliyah meets R. Kelly
Aaliyah, age 12, is introduced to Robert Kelly, age 24, by his manager Barry Hankerson who is also Aaliyah’s blood uncle once married to superstar singer Gladys Knight (both pictured at left). Aaliyah becomes Robert Kelly’s protégé. Below is video footage of her at age 10 on Star Search.
14 ⚠ 1993
Village Voice: What does it say for us to like his music? Jim DeRogatis: I think, again, everybody has to individually answer. I can still listen to Led Zeppelin and take joy in Led Zeppelin or James Brown. I condemn the things they did. I’m not reminded constantly in the art, because the art is not about it. But if you’re listening to “I want to marry you, pussy,” and not realizing that he said that to Aaliyah, who was 14, and making an album he named Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number — I had Aaliyah’s mother cry on my shoulder and say her daughter’s life was ruined, Aaliyah’s life was never the same after that. That’s not an experience you’ve had. I’m not expecting you to feel the same way I do. But you can look at this body of evidence. “You” meaning everybody who cares.
15 ⚠ Aaliyah marries R. Kelly
Aaliyah, age 15, below the age of consent, and Robert Kelly, age 27, illegally get married in Illinois, on August 31, 1994, writing her age down as 18.
The GQ 2016 interview states, “The fullest version of what may have happened—and the most convincing one, for all its incidental detail and accidental nuance—is in a rambling memoir by a man named Demetrius Smith, who worked in various capacities for Kelly before and after he became famous, until they had a falling out. The week of the marriage, Smith recounts being in Miami on tour with Kelly, and how Kelly explained that he had received a distraught phone call from Aaliyah, saying she had run away from home, believing she was pregnant. Smith says that Kelly was then given some specious advice—that he could protect himself from the legal ramifications of the situation by marrying her. Smith’s account of what happened next: During a break in the tour, Smith and Kelly flew together to Illinois; Smith procured a fake state ID for Aaliyah from a friend in the Public Aid office, and they got a backup ID through someone they knew at Federal Express. That night, after the ceremony in a suite at a Sheraton hotel, Kelly and Smith flew back to Miami to resume the tour.”
21 ⚠ Early 2000: Hankerson’s letter
More than five years after the Robert Kelly’s illegal marriage with Aaliyah, her uncle Barry Hankerson resigns as Kelly’s manager. “He writes a letter to the star’s attorney that says he believes Kelly needs psychiatric help for his compulsion to pursue underage girls. Hankerson has never spoken publicly about Kelly, but his attorney confirmed the substance of the letter in an interview with the Sun-Times.” (WBEZ)
Here is a video of Aaliyah from 2000 with Beyonce:
The Daily Mail writes, “The Lemonade star was just 18 years old and three years shy of her Crazy In Love success when she got a chance to speak to her idol at the 2000 MTV VMAs. Beyonce was clearly the gushing fan and Aaliyah the gracious professional as the two chatted on camera during the pre-show.”
22 ⚠ August 25, 2001
Aaliyah, 22, dies in a plane crash on a plane traveling from the Bahamas to Florida. She had just completed filming a music video for her song “Rock the Boat.” She and 8 others on board were all killed.
In an interview with GQ in 2016, Robert Kelly dodges questions by saying it is purely out of respect to Aaliyah’s memory and family:
GQ: As you know, people know that there was a wedding ceremony and you got married. Robert Kelly: Well, because of Aaliyah’s passing, as I’ve always said, out of respect for her mother who’s sick and her father who’s passed, I will never have that conversation with anyone. Out of respect for Aaliyah, and her mother and father who has asked me not to personally. But I can tell you I loved her, I can tell you she loved me, we was very close. We were, you know, best best best best friends.
GQ: But here’s what seems difficult from the outside. Sadly, Aaliyah can’t speak for herself, and people have what they think is a very clear idea of the situation—that the two of you got married, that you were having a sexual relationship. Right now, that’s the record as far as people are concerned. Those are the facts. Robert Kelly: Right.
GQ: So you not talking about it doesn’t feel like it’s protecting her or respecting her, it just feels like it’s protecting you. Robert Kelly: Yeah, yeah. You know, I tell you this: I know Aaliyah’s not here and can’t speak for herself, but there was a time that she was plenty here, after that rumor and all of that stuff started. Plenty grown. She was 22 and could speak for herself. Her mother, her father, anybody else, could speak and say whatever they wanted.
