American singer R Kelly seems to be entering deeper and deeper in soup. The charges against R Kelly have piled up again as new evidence surfaces of his inappropriate involvement with an underaged Aaliyah.
Robert Kelly and the late American singer Aaliyah Haughton met in 1993 was she was just 14 years old. He went on to produce her debut album, coyly titled “Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number”.
At this point, there were suspicions about the relationship between R Kelly and Aaliyah. 27-year-old Kelly went on to illegally marry 15-year-old Aaliyah in secret on August 31, 1994.
Reports at the time said there was a fake ID, claiming that Aaliyah was 18 years old when they wed. R Kelly went on to claim that he was not aware of her age at the time of the wedding.
The resurfacing allegations
In light of his recent ordeals, federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York have dug up new facts and filed a new charge against the serial child abuser.
Kelly and others in his circle allegedly bribed a public official in Illinois to create a fake ID for “Jane Doe #1.”. This was a day before his wedding to Aaliyah.
The marriage was annulled months later. Since Aaliyah’s death in 2001, Kelly has described their relationship as “deep friends,” but has carefully avoided further comment.
Thursday’s indictment is the first time that R Kelly has faced criminal charges in relation to his marriage to Aaliyah. Maintaining his innocence, Kelly has denied this new charge which is coming 25 years after the crime.
Kelly continues to deny all allegations, which now include 19 federal charges and numerous separate sexual assault charges in Illinois, as well as multiple ongoing civil lawsuits.
Kelly’s lawyer, Steve Greenberg also spoke to Good Morning America back in January in the wake of “Surviving R Kelly”. Shrugging off the controversy surrounding the singer’s marriage to Aaliyah, Greenberg said:
“He married her when she was 15. Elvis met Priscilla when she was 14”. Greenberg added that Kelly had “no idea” of Aaliyah’s true age when they wed.
He said, “But my understanding is that she [Aaliyah] did not claim to be 15. And in order to get married, she had to lie about her age.” Responding to the New York Times on Thursday, Greenberg said the new charge “does not appear to materially alter the landscape”.
We hope the case sticks and R Kelly gets what he deserves.