CHICAGO — Derrel McDavid spent hours on the witness stand this week explaining that he once believed the mounting sexual abuse allegations against his boss, R&B superstar R. Kelly, were nothing more than lies from extortionists out for a payday.
But federal prosecutors turned the tables on McDavid’s third day of testimony Friday, portraying McDavid as the one motivated by money, who engaged in a yearslong conspiracy to cover up Kelly’s sexual misconduct by paying off accusers and keeping the gravy train going.
McDavid knew about the lawsuits alleging Kelly’s sexual misconduct but simply wanted “to pay (the claimants) off, to just give them money, to make them go away,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeannice Appenteng asserted during a contentious cross-examination.
