R. Kelly Pleads Not Guilty To Bribery In New Aaliyah Marriage Charges

Source: Chicago Tribune / Getty

Jailed Artist Facing Several Criminal Cases Related To Child Sex Abuse

R. Kelly has pled not guilty to bribery charges stemming from his short marriage to teen singer Aaliyah.

The disgraced singer appeared in Brooklyn Federal Court by video link from a Chicago jail Wednesday for his arraignment on new charges that he bribed people in order to obtain a fake ID so he could legally marry the then 15-year-old singer, who later died in a plane crash in 2001. Kelly was 27 at the time of the marriage, which was annulled months later.

The feds revealed the new charges earlier this month in a revised indictment that accuses Kelly, 50, of running a criminal enterprise that ferried schoolgirls from around the country to him to be sexually assaulted.

His lawyer Douglas Anton pled not guilty on his behalf, and Kelly was later remanded back to federal custody.

Kelly is facing two state and two federal lawsuits related to criminal sex abuse of schoolgirls. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Kelly will have to continue to cool his heels behind bars until at least the spring – his first federal trial is set to begin in April 2020. He’s set to face his changes in New York in May 2020, his court papers state.