R. Kelly’s Marriage to Underage Aaliyah Gets Him New Bribery Charge

Madison Bloom

In 1994, R. Kelly, then 27 years old, married late singer Aaliyah. Aaliyah was 15. Months later, their marriage was annulled due to Aaliyah’s status as a minor. Now, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have accused Kelly of bribery in order to marry Aaliyah, The New York Times reports.

According to the Times, Kelly bribed an Illinois government employee in order to procure a fake ID for Aaliyah. The ID reportedly stated that Aaliyah was 18 years old. The new bribery charge has been added to an existing racketeering indictment filed against Kelly in New York this summer. The indictment also details allegations of enticing minors to engage in criminal sexual activity, possession of child pornography, and more.

Steve Greenberg, Kelly’s attorney, has previously claimed that Aaliyah “had to lie about her age,” and that Kelly had “no idea” she was 15 at the time of the marriage.

Originally Appeared on Pitchfork