R. Kelly has been charged by federal prosecutors for bribing a government employee to obtain a fake ID for a Jane Doe in 1994 — and according to reporting by the New York Times, that Jane Doe was none other than late R&B songstress Aaliyah.
According to a person familiar with the matter who spoke with the Times, the fake ID was used to fraudulently list Aaliyah’s age as 18 years old — she was 15 at the time — so Kelly could obtain a marriage license.
These additional details reported by the Times accompany a racketeering indictment released by federal prosecutors on Thursday. According to the indictment, Kelly — together with other unnamed people — “did knowingly and intentionally cause another individual” to bribe an Illinois “public officer and public employee property” in exchange for “the creation of a fraudulent identification document for Jane Doe #1” on or around Aug. 30, 1994.
The indictment does not name Aaliyah or indicate how the ID was used, but the two were married on Aug. 31, 1994, according to a Cook County marriage certificate first published by Vibe magazine.
Earlier this year, Kelly was arrested on 18 federal charges, including for child pornography and kidnapping. He has pleaded not guilty to five of the charges.
Douglas Anton, Kelly’s lawyer, told the New York Daily News that the claim was “ridiculous.”
“He still wouldn’t have the slightest clue how to get it done or instruct anyone on how to get it done,” Anton said. “He wouldn’t know the first thing about doing it.”
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.