R. Kelly Charged With Bribing Officials To Marry Aaliyah When She Was 15

R. Kelly faces more charges from his dark past.

BYAron A.
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Cook County Sheriff’s Office via Getty Images

R. Kelly's faced some serious allegations throughout the year stemming from his past. Surviving R. Kelly put a spotlight on the alleged crimes he's committed throughout his career from the 90s to the present time. The singer was married to Aaliyah when she was 15 years old in 1994. She admitted that she had lied to say she was 18 on the papers.

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According to docs obtained by Complex, R. Kelly has now been officially indicted on charges of paying off a public official for "the creation of a fraudulent identification document for Jane Doe #1." The alleged bribery happened on Aug. 30th, 1994, a day before Kelly and Aaliyah are rumored to have had their secret wedding. The document reads:

On or about August 30, 1994, within the Northern District of Illinois, the defendant ROBERT SYLVESTER KELLY, together with others, did knowingly and intentionally cause another individual to promise and tender to a public officer and public employee property, to wit: Unites States currency, that such public officer and public employee was not authorized by law to accept, with the intent to influence the performance of an act related to the employment and function of a public officer and public employee, to wit: the creation of a fraudulent identification document for Jane Doe #1, an individual whose identity is known to the Grand Jury, in violation of Illinois Criminal Code Sections 5/33-l(a) and 5/5-1.

The thing is that Kelly's former personal assistant previously admitted to being the one who brought Aaliyah to get a fake ID. "I was in the room when they got married," Smith said. "I’m not proud of that. I had papers forged for them when Aaliyah was underaged. It was just a quick little ceremony. She didn’t have on a white dress. He didn’t have on a tux. Just every day wear. She looked worried and scared."


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About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.