Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have added a new bribery charge against R. Kelly tied to his 1994 marriage to the late singer Aaliyah.
According to The New York Times, prosecutors said on Thursday that Kelly bribed an Illinois government employee in 1994 to obtain a fake ID for Aaliyah so the two could marry. The indictment and sources close to the case say the ID was used to get a marriage license listing her age as 18. Aaliyah was 15 at the time, and Kelly was 27.
The new allegation expands an existing racketeering indictment in New York that accuses Kelly of sexually exploiting girls, including minors. Kelly has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing in the cases against him in New York and Illinois.
His attorneys pushed back. Steven Greenberg told ABC’s “Good Morning America” earlier this year that Kelly had “no idea” Aaliyah was 15 and that she had not claimed to be. Attorney Douglas Anton, according to NBC News, called the new charge an absurdity built on innuendo, and Greenberg said the new indictment “does not appear to materially alter the landscape.”
The charge is an allegation, and Kelly is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
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