NYT: R. Kelly used bribes to marry Aaliyah when she was 15, charges allege
Entertainer R. Kelly has been indicted by a New York grand jury with one count of bribery, and the New York Times is reporting that the charge is related to obtaining a false ID so he could marry a 15-year-old singer.
It’s part of a superseding indictment filed Thursday by federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York, who accuse Kelly of bribing an Illinois government employee on or about August 30, 1994, to obtain “a fraudulent identification document for Jane Doe #1, an individual whose identity is known to the Grand Jury.”
The charge is related to Kelly’s relationship with Aaliyah Haughton, who was 15 years old in 1994 when Kelly reportedly married her, the New York Times reports, citing the indictment and a person familiar with the matter.
Jane Doe #1 is Aaliyah, the New York Times reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. Their marriage was later annulled, the NYT reported, citing court documents. The R&B singer died in a plane crash in 2001 at 22.
Before the new report on the identity of Jane Doe, Kelly’s defense attorney, Steve Greenberg, called the indictment “ridiculous.”
“We’re going to review the indictment, which we just got this afternoon. It doesn’t look like it materially changes anything in the case,” Greenberg said Thursday. “We continue to work on this and look forward to the day Robert is free.”
Kelly was also charged in the Eastern District of New York in July in an indictment that accused him of violating the Mann Act by coercing and transporting women and girls across state lines to engage in illegal sexual activity as far back as 1999.
He pleaded not guilty in August to the charges in that indictment that included counts of racketeering, kidnapping, forced labor and sexual exploitation of a child. The indictment details alleged incidents in four states: Illinois, Connecticut, California and New York. Five Jane Does are referenced throughout the document, including three minors.
The New York based criminal trial against the disgraced R&B singer is set to begin in May 2020.
