R. Kelly’s Relationship W/ Aaliyah Comes Up During Trial, Prosecutors Claim Pair Married Due To Pregnancy + Defense Attorney Says Aaliyah Cannot Testify Because She’s Dead

R. Kelly’s Relationship W/ Aaliyah Comes Up During Trial, Prosecutors Claim Pair Married Due To Pregnancy + Defense Attorney Says Aaliyah Cannot Testify Because She’s Dead

As R. Kelly‘s long-awaited trial finally begins, his past relationship with Aaliyah is already being brought up.

Yesterday (Wednesday, Aug. 18th), the highly-anticipated trial against R. Kelly began. The disgraced singer is charged with kidnapping, sex trafficking, bribery, forced labor, and racketeering. Additionally, he is facing eight counts relating to Mann Act violations, which prohibits interstate sex trafficking.

One of the numerous charges against R. Kelly relates back to his controversial marriage to late singer Aaliyah. As you may recall, R. Kelly illegally married Aaliyah in 1994. While the marriage certificate stated Aaliyah was 18 at the time, she was really only 15–12 years younger than R. Kelly, who was 27. In order to get away with the marriage, prosecutors claim R. Kelly bribed a federal official to create a fake ID for Aaliyah.

Aaliyah

Additionally, Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Cruz Melendez claims Aaliyah told R. Kelly that she was pregnant, and the marriage was a tactic in order to deter her from pressing sexual misconduct charges against him.

However, one of R. Kelly‘s attorneys–Nicole Blank Becker–addressed these allegations in her opening statement during the trial. Specifically, the lawyer pointed out that Aaliyah is unable to testify on the matter due to her death 20 years ago. Additionally, Nicole Blank Becker stated that there is no evidence that Aaliyah was ever impregnated by R. Kelly while she was underage. The attorney appears to have brought these points up to the jury to highlight the reasonable doubt in the accusations.

Regarding the Aaliyah-centered allegations against R. Kelly, Nicole Blank Becker questioned:

“If Mr. Kelly was involved in a crime in 1994, would we be here today?”

What do you think about the situation? Comment down below to let us know.

[VIA]