R. Kelly sexually abused a 17-year-old boy after meeting him at a Chicago-area McDonald’s in 2006, a new court filing alleges.
Federal prosecutors in New York have detailed a string of new accusations against the disgraced singer, including sexual assault and bribery, going back 30 years.
In a lengthy court filing on Friday, they asked a judge to grant permission for them to admit new evidence of the allegations at his upcoming sex-trafficking trial in Brooklyn, New York, despite him not being charged for the offences.
They argue the acts, including the alleged abuse of a victim named John Doe #1, are “directly relevant to and inextricably intertwined with the evidence of the charged crimes.”
According to the filing, the I Believe I Can Fly star sexually abused the teen after asking “what he was willing to do to succeed in the music business.”
He allegedly introduced Kelly to a close male pal, aged 16 or 17, and several years later, the star apparently started a sexual relationship with that person, referred to as John Doe #2, and forced several of his girlfriends to have sex with the young man while he filmed.
Prosecutors also claim to have evidence that Kelly sexually abused singer Aaliyah and married her in 1994, when she was 15, so that she couldn’t be forced to testify against him, reported the Chicago Sun-Times. She died in a plane crash in 2001.
Other allegations include unlawful imprisonment, hush money payments, threats and psychological abuse, with a woman named Jane Doe #5 claiming Kelly directed her to search the internet and find “child pornography involving boys for him.” According to the papers, a search of Kelly’s computer corroborated the claim.
Two audio recordings, allegedly showing the Ignition hitmaker physically and psychologically abusing women, proving his “regular use of audio and video recordings to maintain control,” are also being presented.And a “crisis manager” for Kelly is accused of bribing a Cook County, Illinois, clerk with US$2,500 (C$3,100) to get inside information on his legal troubles, following the broadcast of Lifetime documentary Surviving R. Kelly in early 2019.
The musician is accused of leading an enterprise to recruit women and girls for sex. He denies any wrongdoing. His case is due to head to trial on Aug. 9.
He is also set for a separate trial for his child pornography charges in his native Chicago in September.
Kelly has pleaded not guilty to all counts.