R Kelly prosecution case rests: Defense calls mentee who knew singer for 15 ...

R Kelly prosecution case rests: Defense calls mentee who knew singer for 15 ...
R Kelly prosecution case rests: Defense calls mentee who knew singer for 15 ...

Prosecutors rested their case against R. Kelly Monday morning after 20 days of testimony from accusers detailing the harrowing sexual abuse they allegedly suffered at the hands of the disgraced singer - and now two witnesses have come to Kelly's defense.

Immediately after jurors heard the final account from federal prosecutors' forty-fifth witness against the R&B star in a Brooklyn court, the defense proceeded to call the first of their own series of witnesses to the stand in an effort to cast some doubt on the slew of allegations.  

The first witness to take the stand in Kelly's defense, Dhanai Ramnanan, or 'Da-Ni,' a failed aspiring rapper, called Kelly his mentor, and said that he worked with the star for upwards of 15 years, starting in 2003.

Since his trial began in Brooklyn federal court back in August, several witnesses have testified that Kelly sexually and physically abused them. The disgraced singer currently faces racketeering and sex-trafficking charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty

Since his trial began in Brooklyn federal court back in August, several witnesses have testified that Kelly sexually and physically abused them. The disgraced singer currently faces racketeering and sex-trafficking charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty

Ramnanan proceeded to tell jurors that he was never on the singer's payroll and had no day job. 

When asked what he did for Kelly in the years he spent in his inner sanctum, the witness responded simply that it was his job 'to observe and to learn and to become.'

Ramnanan told the court that he spent 15 years following R. Kelly around his homes and on tour, but never saw Kelly asserting himself as an authority figure over women, and that he never witnessed Kelly degrade them or tell them how to behave.   

Dhanai Ramnanan, or 'Da-Ni,' a failed aspiring rapper who called Kelly his mentor, told jurors that it was his job 'to observe and to learn and to become,' during his 15 years working for Kelly

Dhanai Ramnanan, or 'Da-Ni,' a failed aspiring rapper who called Kelly his mentor, told jurors that it was his job 'to observe and to learn and to become,' during his 15 years working for Kelly

Kelly faces racketeering and sex-trafficking charges, accused of sexually abusing numerous young women and two men, and of directing employees to procure women for perverse sexual acts in what amounted to a criminal 'enterprise.' 

Specifically, witness statements allege that Kelly had his entourage lock a radio station intern in a room where the performer proceeded to have sex with her while she was passed out; that he gave several of them herpes without disclosing he had an STD; that he personally shot a disturbing, shaming video of one alleged victim depicting her smearing feces on her face in a demeaning manner, and committed an array of other sick, sexual misdeeds. 

The singer has pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Kelly was accused of upholding his girlfriends to a strict set of rules concerning what they should wear, when they could use the restroom, and where they could sleep and reside in his several homes and studios. 

Multiple women testified that the star made them wait for days in a room before giving them permission to relieve themselves.

Ramnanan denied this was the case.

When defense attorney Calvin Scholar asked Ramnanan if Kelly ever asked him to have sex with any of his girlfriends, Ramnanan replied, 'No. No. No.'

Ramnanan told jurors that he regularly witnessed female guests come and go from Kelly's homes as they please on several instances, and use the restroom without hindrance. And when eating with the star, Ramnanan described the women being encouraged to

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