Three individuals have been charged in separate schemes for harassing, intimidating, and bribing alleged victims of R. Kelly, who is facing charges in New York and Chicago.
Court docs obtained by Complex show that the U.S. Attorney’s office in Brooklyn is charging Richard Arline Jr., Donnell Russell, and Michael Williams for the schemes.
Arline was apprehended in Dolton, Illinois for purportedly discussing a $500,000 payment to a victim to prevent her from complying with the government. During a recorded phone call, Arline allegedly said he had been talking to Kelly—who is in jail—through a three-way call with another person.
According to court docs, Arline reportedly said, “If I had a way to talk to Rob (Kelly), being next to him and telling him what’s going on, without nobody listening to, no feds, nobody, he gonna pay her . . . off to be quiet,” adding she “got too much. She got too much.”
Russell has been charged with harassing and intimidating another victim following a lawsuit she filed against Kelly. Russell reportedly said he would disclose graphic photos of her and publicly disclose her sexual history if she didn’t drop the lawsuit. He also allegedly used a false name to create a Facebook page called “Surviving Lies”—a spin on the Lifetime docuseries Surviving R. Kelly—and shared screenshots of text messages between Kelly and the victim.
For his part, Williams is accused of setting an SUV on fire in Florida in June, which was parked outside a residence where an alleged Kelly victim was staying with others.
Kelly is facing federal child pornography and obstruction of justice charges in Chicago, and another set of federal racketeering charges in Brooklyn. He’s currently imprisoned in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago, though his legal team has made several attempts to free him due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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