A friend of R. Kelly has pleaded guilty to charges of bribery after attempting to pay off one of the accusers in the high-profile sex trafficking case.
Richard Arline Jr. pleaded guilty to the charges and admitted that he tried to bribe Jane Doe with half a million dollars if she kept quiet.
After R. Kelly was indicted on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering in 2020, Jane Doe received a text message saying that R. Kelly’s “cousin Rich” would reach out to her with an offer.
In a phone call on May 26, 2020, Arline was heard speaking to Jane Doe — one of the witnesses in the case — and telling her that she could have $500,000 if she decided not to continue with the allegations against R. Kelly.
31-year-old Arline claimed the disgraced singer had given the green light for the payment to be made in exchange for her silence.
However, neither Arline nor Kelly were aware that police had been listening in on the phone call.
During the virtual hearing this week in Brooklyn, Arline confessed to bribing the witness and told the court that he knew what he did “was wrong.”
Richard Arline Jr. made this confession: “Me and another person offered Jane Doe money for her to not go forward with her complaint or testimony against Robert Kelly. I knew what I did was wrong.”
When he is sentenced, Arline will face a maximum of 15 years behind bars.
In addition to Arline, two others — Donnell Russell and Michael Wilson — were also accused of harassing, threatening, and intimidating other witnesses.
Music lovers had mixed reactions to the latest R. Kelly update. This person bashed the fallen R&B singer-songwriter with this remark: “All keep saying he’s not guilty… But if he’s not guilty why would he need to bribe women not to testify? Somebody break it down.”
A social media enthusiast called out the accomplices in the matter by sharing: “We knew the people around him were helping him. That’s why he got away with everything for so long. ?”
R. Kelly had this fan who decided to defend his impressive music career that spans over three decades. The backer stated: “I will still be streaming his music. He’s an excellent artist. No one can take that away from him.”
R. Kelly also faces charges of child pornography and destruction of evidence in Chicago, where he is currently being held. In total, he faces 22 separate charges.
Over the last two years, a two-part documentary called Surviving R. Kelly has been aired, detailing the allegations against the singer. When it was broadcast, calls to America’s national sexual assault hotline increased by 27%.
