The latest R. Kelly accuser drops bombshell in interview

Faith Rodgers told CBS This Morning that the R&B singer lured her into a relationship where he not only abused her but left a permanent sexual mark on her

Kia Morgan-Smith

May 22, 2018

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The woman who filed a lawsuit accusing R. Kelly of infecting her with a sexually transmitted disease, emerged from the shadows to speak with CBS This Morning for her first interview about having sex with the disgraced singer who allegedly gave her herpes.

In a lawsuit filed Monday evening in New York Supreme Court, Faith Rodgers, 20, sued Kelly, 51, for infecting her with disease along with sexual battery, fraud and false imprisonment. Rodgers said Kelly knowingly gave her herpes and she was a member of Kelly’s exclusive “sex cult,” where he lured young girls in with promises of fame and fortune.

Rodgers who is from San Antonio, Tex., met Kelly after a concert in the city in March 2017, the lawsuit states. They exchanged numbers and Kelly later flew her to New York where he allegedly forced her to have sex after she told Kelly she was “not ready to have sex.” He still pressed on, the suit claims, and Kelly engaged in “non-permissive, painful and abusive sex,” against Rodgers wishes..

The lawsuit also states that Kelly mocked Rodgers for her “lack of participation” and physical inadequacies. In addition, it claims Kelly gave Rodgers alcohol and he failed to disclose that he had an incurable disease.

She also claims that Kelly was abusive and locked her away in rooms, his studios and in vehicles for extended periods of time to punish her for failing to please him. Rodgers claims to have suffered emotional and mental stress as well as depression.

Rodgers said she was only 19 when she slept with Kelly, who instructed her to call him “daddy” sometime last June, but just recently ended the relationship in February 2018.

“He was older than me and that was a red flag you know.” She said she didn’t look at him as a 50-year-old man, his age at the time. “He doesn’t act his age. You feel like, I’m chilling with somebody I went to high school with,” she said.

In the lawsuit, Rodgers, who is represented by civil rights attorney S. Lee Merritt, names a number of crimes Kelly allegedly committed—from giving minors illegal drugs and alcohol, unlawful restraint, and “aggravated assault (via the referenced intentional STD infection).”

Rodgers filed a formal complaint against Kelly with Dallas police in April, and the department says it is investigating, according to The Dallas Morning News. Merritt told the newspaper that the woman decided to take legal action against the singer once she tested positive for herpes.

In one particular incident, she describes his behavior as particularly malicious.

“He turns on all the lights and he’s like ‘take off your clothes’ and he says it with authority. He’s demanding me to do this. I didn’t take off my clothes because why would I? I just wasn’t ready for sex.”

She ultimately submitted to having sex and alleges Kelly recorded it on his IPad without her consent.

Rodgers told CBS News’ Jericka Duncan: “If I were to see him, if I were even to talk to him again, my question would be like, “Why haven’t you stopped? Not only are you abusing women. You’re literally leaving your mark on them. And even if you want to move on, you still have to– you’re reminded of the situation because of this.”

Duncan asked Rodgers if she even wanted to have sex with Kelly, but she says she was coerced into it.

“He has this type of intimidation right off the bat so I was waiting for it to be over…After that he starts rubbing the side of my face and he asked me how old I was and I told him.

“He said, you know if you’re really 16 you can tell daddy right? You look about 14, 15, or 16,” she said Kelly told her.

Rodgers said as a member of Kelly’s sex cult, she had to divulge confidential information about herself and her family as collateral. She also signed a contract. According to Kelly’s representatives, he denies all allegations.

Other allegations in the lawsuit about R. Kelly’s sexual behavior with his victims include:

Kelly pursues teenage/underage girls
Kelly lures teens into what appears to be a genuinely meaningful relationship.
R. Kelly videos himself having sex with teen without her consent.
R. Kelly begins grooming teen into his sexual inner circle.
R. Kelly engages in abusive, manipulative and controlling behavior designed to mentally break teen.
R. Kelly coerces the teen into repeatedly compromising and humiliating sexual conduct to appease his deviant sexual predilections.
R. Kelly infects teen with sexually transmitted disease. The newest allegations continue a pattern of complaints of misconduct that has resurfaced against the disgraced singer in recent months following a documentary titled R Kelly: Sex, Girls and Videotapes.The documentary outlines a number of shocking claims from women who said Kelly slept with them while underage, forced them to be a part of his sex cult.

One woman, Jerhonda Pace, said that Kelly took her virginity at age 16 and he had another woman groom her and show her how to sexually satisfy Kelly.

Others say Kelly controlled their every move, what they wore and who they interacted with. They claim they were cut off from the outside and couldn’t contact family members.

Rodgers did say there were times Kelly expressed himself to her about the many allegations against him.

“It’s not like all the time he was this devious person,” she said. “There are times when he’s crying and he’s telling me about his children and his ex-wife, comparing himself to Michael Jackson and how the media destroyed him and he felt like that was going on in his life.”

As the mounting pressure against Kelly continues to grow, three of his key team members quit after latest sexual misconduct claims and because of the #MuteRKelly campaign several radios stations have vowed to stop playing his music. Spotify also booted Kelly’s music from its playlists as part of its new “Hate Content & Hateful Conduct Policy.” Several other women have stepped forward with sexual abuse claims as well.

Kelly has blamed the media for trying to stain his musical legacy and says he’s “heartbroken” over claims that he’s a sexual predator.

Representatives for Kelly told CBS News that they have no comment on these most recent allegations.

However Rodgers said she filed the lawsuit for others who may encounter what she says she went through.

“I want it (the lawsuit) for girls like me who are going to run into him in the future and it’s going to get worst. I chose to walk away. What about the ones who don’t walk away.”