Former R. Kelly tour manager claimed on Friday August 20 that the fallen R&B star bribed through him an official to obtain false identity documents in order to marry singer Aaliyah, then underage and since deceased in a plane crash.
Read also Violence and humiliation: at the trial of R. Kelly, a victim testifies
"I walked in and said, '
Hey, do you want to make some money?
», Said Demetrius Smith, 65 years old today, during his testimony delivered on the third day of the trial of Robert Kelly in New York for sexual abuse. Demetrius Smith, who worked for R. Kelly for more than ten years in the 1980s and 1990s, claimed to have given the civil servant $ 500 in exchange for false papers for Aaliyah, then only 15, for the singer, who was 27, could marry her.
Demetrius Smith, who testified with assurances of immunity from future prosecution, told jurors that R. Kelly and his associates conceived the marriage plan after Aaliyah announced that she was pregnant, with the singer fearing that she was pregnant. 'go to "
prison
".
R. Kelly, tried in Brooklyn Federal Court for extortion, underage sexual exploitation, kidnapping, bribery and forced labor, from 1994 to 2018, believed to testify against him in the charges against him.
Read alsoSinger R. Kelly portrayed as a sexual "predator" on the first day of his trial
It was "
to protect himself and protect Aaliyah,
" said Demetrius Smith, recounting that he and R. Kelly had traveled to Chicago on a tour for the whirlwind wedding in 1994, which was subsequently canceled.
The manager said he advised the star against marrying Aaliyah, telling her that "
he could not marry her and (that) she was too young
".
“
He asked me which side I was on.
Aaliyah, whose debut album "
Age Ain't Nothin 'But A Number
" was produced by R. Kelly, died in August 2001 in a plane crash, aged 22.
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Sexual abuse: singer R. Kelly portrayed as a sexual "predator" on the first day of his trial
