New R. Kelly accuser speaks out for first time in CBS interview about alleged abuse
Lanita Carter speaks publicly for the first time about an alleged assault by the R&B singer.
An R. Kelly accuser is speaking out for the first time about alleged sexual abuse claims that helped lead Chicago prosecutors to arrest the singer back in February.
Lanita Carter told CBS News that she is one of four victims whose claims against the disgraced singer landed him in a Cook County jail last month with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sex abuse filed against him.
The charges are in connection with incidents stemming from 1998 to 2010, along with three other accusers who are all said to be minors.
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“I was sexually abused by him and I live after that. I try to pick up the pieces every day,” Carter told CBS correspondent Jericka Duncan.
“It’s hard but I know I’ll get through it. I’m not ashamed of my past anymore.”
Carter said she endured a nasty confrontation with Kelly 15 years ago – at the age of 24 and at a time when she was his hair braider. She said Kelly tried to force her to have oral sex and then masturbated on her and spit in her face.
As proof, Carter said she provided Cook County prosecutors with a shirt reportedly with Kelly’s DNA on it, which she said was analyzed and proved to be a match to the 52-year-old.
“This is a release,” she said about speaking out.
“I’ve been carrying this since 2003. I have had to sit on a public bus and watch public conversation: ‘Did you hear about what they did with R. Kelly? They need to leave that man alone.’ And I can’t stand up for myself. I finally realized: I don’t wanna be this victim. I don’t wanna be a part of this.”
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“When I finally realized I don’t want to be this victim, I don’t want to be a part of this, every time I tried to pick myself up again, I felt like something on the news brought me back to what I thought I swept under the rug,” she said.
“Today I say: no more. You can talk about me. You can not like what I’m sayin’ about your favorite singer. But this is my life… This is my truth. This is what I have. If I die tomorrow, I know that I told the truth.”
She added, “I know that I want to be the best person I could be. I know that I want to help people.
“If it’s anybody that want to speak truth, it’s hard when it’s a celebrity. It’s not easy. It’s not easy if it wasn’t a celebrity. It makes it 10 times worse.”
