R. Kelly Pleads Not Guilty to Bribery Charge in Aaliyah Fake ID Case

This December R. Kelly was charged with a new indictment which accused the singer of bribing a federal employee in 1994 to get a fake ID for the late singer Aaliyah in order to legally marry her. On December 18 Kelly entered a not guilty plea for the charge, CNN reports.

“He’s a musical genius, but if I asked him to make a fake ID, he would have no idea how to do that,” Kelly’s lawyer Doug Anton said. At the time of their marriage Aaliyah, cited in papers as Jane Doe, was 15 and Kelly was 27.

The current charges against R. Kelly span several states. In addition to the bribery charge Kelly has also been charged with racketeering in Brooklyn and faces a 13-count indictment that includes child pornography charges in Chicago. He also faces sex crime charges in Minnesota.