The FBI has opened an investigation into R. Kelly for allegedly violating a federal law that prohibits transporting an underage girl across the state to engage in sexual activity.
According to TMZ, the "I Believe I Can Fly" crooner arranged for an underage girl to fly across the country from Palm Springs, California, to join him in Orlando, Florida. The victim in question, Azriel Clary, first recounted the alleged incident on the Lifetime docuseries Surviving R. Kelly. The flight purportedly took place in May 2015 and was organized by a former assistant of Kelly's, per a source close to Clary's family.
Given Clary was just 17 years old when the trip was scheduled, the FBI is now launching a probe into the singer to determine if he intended to engage in promiscuous activity with the teenager. Complex writes that if that is true, Kelly would be in breach of the Mann Act, which bans adults from bringing anyone under the age of 18 across state borders with the purpose of prostitution or sex.
In a statement to TMZ, Kelly's lawyer, Steve Greenberg, vehemently refuted these claims, denying that his client broke federal law.
"Mr. Kelly has not violated the law. Certainly not the Mann Act. The story has flawed factual predicates. Beyond that, we remain unaware of any investigation, anywhere," Greenberg asserted.
Should the FBI find Kelly liable for this offense, The Daily Mail reports he could be looking at 10 years in prison.
TMZ is also reporting that sometime in 2017, Kelly and then-girlfriend Halle Calhoun engaged in a physical fight following one of Kelly's concerts. Fueled by jealousy, Kelly allegedly lost his temper and grabbed Calhoun by her clothes and flung her against the wall. Of course, his camp is also denying these allegations.
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