Two women have come forward for the first time, breaking their silence and allege they were sexually abused by R. Kelly when they were teenagers.
In a press conference Thursday, Latresa Scaff and Rochelle Washington were joined by noted women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred. Both women gave vivid details on meeting R. Kelly after a Baltimore concert in the mid 90s. According to their account, they were singled out of the crowd and invited to a party where the were offered cocaine, marijuana and alcohol.
Here is a snapshot of what they allege courtesy of Complex.
“At the time I thought meeting a celebrity would make me be happy but in this case it didn’t,” Washington said Thursday. “I just wanted to have fun . . . I could never forget that day. I can’t get it out of my mind, what I saw and what happened.” Kelly is said to have proposed a threesome, exposed himself, and allegedly took advantage of Scaff on the night in question.
Allred also showed reporters alleged photos of both women with LL Cool J, who was reportedly also a performer at that night’s show and a separate photo showing the women at the after-party. A third alleged photo showed Kelly performing that night. Both Scaff and Washington say they are willing to testify under oath.
Gloria Allred is repping both women, who gave a press conference on the allegations Thursday afternoon. Per Allred, they were compelled to come forward “in order to encourage others who may have been victimized by him to come forward.” Allred said Kelly used his fame to manipulate and victimize her clients, which she argued fits into an “alleged pattern” of singling out vulnerable “teenagers.”
By breaking their silence, both women are hoping to encourage other victims of R. Kelly to come forward as well. Allred claims R. Kelly did not ask the alleged victims’ ages at the time.
Flip the page for video of the press conference as well as their account of the sexual misconduct.