R. Kelly Charged With Bribing Official To Marry 15-Year-Old Aaliyah

R. Kelly has been hit with another allegation, this time involving his 1994 marriage to Aaliyah.

According to TMZ and NPR, federal documents, obtained by the celebrity gossip outlet, revealed federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York allege the disgraced R&B musician bribed a public official to create a “fraudulent identification document for Jane Doe #1” the day before his wedding, which reportedly took place on August 31, 1994.

A candid interview with Kelly’s former tour manager, Demetrius Smith, revealed he was instructed to obtain a fake ID for Aaliyah so that the marriage would proceed. Additionally, Smith recalls the Illinois marriage license listed the late songbird, who was 15 at the time, as 18 years old. With that, prosecutors are pushing to add bribery to the onslaught of federal indictments Kelly is facing in the Eastern District of New York including abusing women and girls for over 20 years, transporting child pornography across state lines, kidnapping, and 18 counts of sexual misconduct between Chicago and New York.

As yet, Kelly’s lawyer, Steven Greenberg, told TMZ the indictment “does not appear to materially alter the landscape,” whereas Kelly’s other attorney, Doug Anton, dubbed the charge was “ridiculous.”

In October, Kelly was accused of blackmailing and threatening to release “compromising and potentially embarrassing photographs” of his alleged victim if she proceeded with her civil lawsuit against the star. Despite requesting to be release on home detention earlier that month given he allegedly had no money to flee and was in poor health, Kelly was denied bail by a Brooklyn judge.

Kelly’s next hearing is set for Monday (December 9), and his federal trial for May 18, 2020.

Photo: Getty Images


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