R Kelly accused of paying bribe for fake ID day before he married then 15-year-old singer Aaliyah

R Kelly has been accused of paying a bribe for a fake ID the day before he married R&B singer Aaliyah, who was then 15 years old.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Kelly schemed with others to pay for a “fraudulent identification document” on August 30, 1994.

The document was for someone identified only as “Jane Doe,” according to a revised indictment filed in New York on Thursday.

A day later, the R&B artist married Aaliyah in a secret ceremony arranged by Kelly at a hotel in Chicago.

The marriage was annulled months later because of her age.

Kelly's attorney, Douglas Anton, called the latest charge against his client "ridiculous and absurd."

The US Attorney's office declined to comment about who the fake ID was meant for and the indictment didn't mention the wedding.

However, a person familiar with the investigation said "Jane Doe" was Aaliyah.

The source was not authorised to discuss details of the new charge and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001 at age 22.

Kelly's attorneys have long maintained he was unaware of Aaliyah's age when they married.

The Illinois marriage license used for the wedding said she was 18.

The indictment did not identify the person who was paid the bribe in order to get the fake ID, except to say that the person was a public employee.

Aaliyah, whose full name was Aaliyah Dana Haughton, worked with Kelly on her debut album "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number."

The Brooklyn prosecutors had already charged Kelly with racketeering, kidnapping, forced labour and sexual exploitation.

They alleged he and his employees and assistants picked out women and girls at concerts and groomed them for sexual abuse.

The singer, who is being held without bond, is scheduled to stand trial in federal court in Chicago in April on child pornography and obstruction of justice charges before facing trial in Brooklyn.

Kelly, whose given name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was acquitted in 2008 on charges of videotaping himself having sex with a girl who prosecutors allege was as young as 13.

Agencies contributed to this report

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