R. Kelly accused of bribing official for fake ID before marrying Aaliyah

Dec. 5 (UPI) -- New York prosecutors on Thursday accused singer R. Kelly of bribing an Illinois official to create a fake ID one day before he secretly married 15-year-old singer Aaliyah.

The then-27-year-old singer, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, was accused of offering a cash bribe to a public official on Aug. 30, 1994, for "the creation of a fraudulent identification" for an unnamed woman.

Aaliyah is not specifically named in the suit, but a marriage certificate between her and Kelly dated Aug. 31, 1994, falsely lists her age as 18.

Illinois law requires a person to be at least 18 years old to marry without parental consent.

Kelly's marriage to Aaliyah was later annulled at her family's insistence. The singer-actress died in 2001 in a plane crash.

The charges filed Thursday were added to a New York lawsuit accusing Kelly, 52, of racketeering, kidnapping, forced labor and sexual exploitation of a child.

Kelly also faces another indictment in Chicago accusing him of child pornography and obstructing justice.

Kelly pleaded not guilty in June to felony charges of sex abuse involving four women, a couple of whom were underage and he was acquitted after a separate child pornography case in 2008.