American R&B Singer R.Kelly Pleads Guilty To Attempting To Bribe Witness From Testifying Against Him.
American singer and songwriter R. Kelly plead guilty for trying to bribe an eyewitness from testifying against him.
The singer was said to have pleaded guilty this week during a trial, when documents claim that he tried paying off a woman named Jane Doe, shutting her up from sharing any evidence against him.
It is alleged that the woman has evidence concerning his next hearing on his awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
This was made known by Richard Arline Jr., of Dolton, Illinois, in a Brooklyn Federal Court teleconference. As he was caught offering the bribe on recordings the woman made on the advice of law enforcement.
Richard offered the woman $500,000 for her not to testify, but she refused and asked for $1 million instead.
Other recording evidence includes conversations with another man which richard admitted the woman has a substantial amount of evidence against Kelly.
He said:
“Rob, if I had talked to Rob on the phone and Rob got the money, he gonna pay [first name of Jane Doe] to be quiet,” Arline said according to documents.
“Like if I had a way to talk to Rob, being next to him, and telling him what’s going on, without nobody listening to, no feds, nobody, he gonna pay her ass off to be quiet. She got too much. She got too much.”
Richard Arline went on to apologize to the court in a statement for his actions. He said; “I knew what I did was wrong, and I’m sorry.”
Meanwhile, R.Kelly’s manager, Donnell Russell, was said to have threatened the witness to spread nude photos of another woman if she doesn’t step down from the trial against Kelly.
“Pull the plug, or you will be exposed,” Russell wrote in the message, sending along with cropped nude photos of the woman to her lawyer.”
Richard Arline is among the three men charged with bribing witnesses around the singer’s trial. Arline is scheduled to be sentenced in June. The Federal bribery charges carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
Meanwhile, R.Kelly’s next trial, which has been repeatedly delayed due to COVID-19, is now scheduled to start on April 7.
