Three associates of R. Kelly have been charged with bribing and even threatening accusers who fell victim to the disgraced R&B singer’s sexual crimes over the past few decades.
R. Kelly‘s ongoing sex abuse saga has seen a multitude of twist and turns, and the latest development is now surrounding those who’ve been aiding and abetting the disgraced R&B singer all along.
Image: Scott Olson/Getty Images
The New York Times reports that Donnell Russell, Michael Williams and Richard Arline, Jr. have been arrested on separate charges in connection to bribing and even threatening accusers who fell victim to R. Kelly’s sexual crimes over the past few decades. All three men have criminal complaints accusing them of tactics used to silence these women, including harassment, threats of leaking sexually explicit photographs and even a car fire that one accuser woke up to in her driveway on June 20. According to The Times, these charges are now added to the government’s existing case against the Chocolate Factory hitmaker, who is facing two separate charges in Brooklyn and Chicago involving crimes including but not limited to kidnapping, blackmail, extortion and racketeering in pursuit to exploit underage girls for sex.
Kelly plead not guilty to the charges, and his trial date is pending given the coronavirus locking down courthouses. Jury selection begins on Sept. 29. We’ll keep you all updated as more developments in this case become clearer.