R. Kelly's Daughter Says Her Father Abused Her When She Was a Child
The daughter of singer and music producer R. Kelly, who was found guilty of pedophilia and human trafficking, said her father molested her when she was a child.
Buku Abi, 26, made her confession in the documentary series “Karma: A Daughter’s Journey,” which is broadcast by Tvei Network. According to the girl, she was 8 or 9 years old when she was molested by her father.
“I remember waking up to him touching me. I didn’t know what to do, so I just lay there and pretended to be asleep. I was so afraid to tell anyone. I was afraid to even tell my mom,” Buku shared.
She said that sometimes she herself did not believe what her father did to her, because for her he was “everything.” Eventually, when she was 10 years old, she told her mother about what happened, and some time later they filed an anonymous report with the police. However, because they waited too long, R. Kelly could no longer be held accountable.
“Then I felt like there was no point in my confession,” Abi said, adding that she had psychological problems due to a traumatic incident in her childhood: “In one millisecond, my whole life changed, and I changed too. I lost that spark and that light that was in me.” According to the girl, she even had suicidal thoughts. One day, her mother Andrea, who was married to the singer from 1996 to 2009 (she announced her desire to divorce in 2005), discovered cuts on her daughter’s arms.
After Buku told her mother about everything, she stopped visiting her father, as did her brother Robert and sister Jaa.
R. Kelly's attorney denied Abi's claims to People. He said Andrea had previously accused R. Kelly of molesting her daughter, and the case was investigated by the Illinois Department of Children and Families, but no evidence was found. The man added that the documentary series had not reached out to his client for comment.
Let us recall that in 2022, R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison in a case of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of women and underage girls.