New Allegations of Bribery and Sexual Abuse of a Minor Filed Against R. Kelly Ahead of His Trial in New York

Federal prosecutors in New York have asked a judge for permission to add additional allegations to their case against R. Kelly, including claims that members of his entourage bribed a Cook County clerk in 2019 for information on his legal issues and also paid for a fake ID for the late Aaliyah back in 1994.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the R&B singer and bonafide nasty man’s racketeering trial will begin in Brooklyn next month. He was indicted in Brooklyn on accusations that he ran a criminal enterprise that recruited women and girls for illegal sex.

The Sun-Times reports that prosecutors obtained a recording of a conversation between Kelly and someone claiming to be his crisis manager who told the singer that he had “two people” who “know a lot” and said Kelly needed to determine what he “can do for them.” This conversation happened after Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly documentary hit the airwaves, according to the newspaper.

From the Sun-Times:

Kelly allegedly replied, “What you do, man, is write something on a piece of paper and give me what I should tip the bailiff. What I should tip the, uh, the valet. Like when my uncle come up here and say ‘Rob, the valet guy, he parked the car over there.’ I say, ‘So what should I give him?’ He say, ‘Well, 20, 30, 30 dollars.’ I gave him 30 dollars. So what I’m saying is I don’t know that number.”

Later during that same conversation, the crisis manager allegedly told Kelly he had paid a Cook County clerk $2,500 and obtained a “burner” phone for the clerk to help get information about Kelly’s legal trouble. Cook County prosecutors charged Kelly with aggravated criminal sexual abuse in February 2019.

“That’s done,” the crisis manager allegedly said of the payment to the clerk. “You don’t know nothing.”

Kelly allegedly replied, “Exactly.”

As for the fake ID claim, the Sun-Times reports, prosecutors say Kelly had a member of his entourage pay $500 to obtain the document. He married Aaliyah when she was 15, and prosecutors claim he obtained the phony documentation for her to ensure that she couldn’t be forced to testify against him in court.

ABC 7 in Chicago reported that the Cook County Circuit Court Clerk’s office responded to these claims:

“I want to be very clear that any type of corruption or inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated under my administration. The incident that allegedly occurred between a Cook County clerk and an R. Kelly representative took place before my tenure and we will open an investigation into this matter to ensure anyone who may have been involved does not remain a part of our Office.”

In addition to those allegations, the Sun-Times also reports that prosecutors claim Kelly sexually abused a 17-year-old boy in 2006.

More from the Sun-Times:

(The document) said Kelly invited the boy to his studio, purportedly to help the boy with his musical aspirations. Kelly allegedly asked the boy what he would do to succeed in the music business and then had sexual contact with the boy.

The feds say the boy then introduced Kelly to a close male friend who was 16 or 17. They said Kelly started a sexual relationship with that person several years later.

Kelly has routinely (and very loudly) denied all of the allegations against him. He’s been charged with a bevy of crimes on both the state and federal levels in New York, Illinois, and Minnesota.

As for these new allegations filed by the feds in New York, Kelly has not been formally charged for any of the additional claims.