Musician R. Kelly pleaded not guilty to a new bribery charge Wednesday related to his marriage of the late singer Aaliyah.
Kelly was accused of bribing a government official in order to obtain a fake ID for Aliyah, who was 15 years old at the time, back in 1994, according to a report published by Page Six. The indictment was handed down to the singer at the beginning of December.
R. Kelly pleaded not guilty to bribing an official for a fake ID for a minor. The alleged incident happened days before he married Aaliyah, who was 15.
He is currently in jail over multiple sex crime charges involving underage girls. pic.twitter.com/bes1QvKquq
— AJ+ (@ajplus) December 19, 2019
As previously reported, the fake ID was allegedly used to obtain a marriage license, which listed Aaliyah as 18 years old instead of 15. Kelly was 27 years old at the time the two got married.
The marriage was annulled a few months later after the singer’s parents found out, the outlet reported. Aaliyah died in a plane crash on Aug. 25, 2001. She was 22 years old at the time. (RELATED: R. Kelly Accused Of Bribing A Government Official In Order To Marry Singer Aaliyah When She Was 15 Years Old)
Kelly’s lawyer claimed the singer would not have been able to obtain a fake ID because he has limited reading and writing abilities.
Kelly appeared Wednesday via video in the courtroom. He is currently being held at a Chicago prison and is facing four cases in three different states. The charges against him include racketeering, forced labor and child pornography.
Kelly was most recently denied bail after prosecutors argued he was a flight risk due to stashed royalties from his music. Kelly’s trial is set to start in May of 2020 and expected to last up to three weeks.