R. Kelly’s lawyer seeks to dismiss racketeering charge
Steven Greenberg, the embattled singer's lead attorney, says prosecutors failed to name other alleged co-conspirators
Lawyers for R. Kelly, 53, filed court papers Friday to dismiss racketeering charges after prosecutors failed to name alleged co-conspirators.
An attorney for R. Kelly on Friday filed papers in Brooklyn federal court to dismiss a 12-count racketeering charge against the embattled singer.
Kelly, 53, the motion claims, shouldn’t be charged with being involved in a “criminal conspiracy” because prosecutors did not identify other members who were associated with the alleged crime, Page Six reports.
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Prosecutors claimed that the singer was working with managers, drivers and members of his entourage.
“The superseding indictment is silent on how any other individual benefited from Mr. Kelly engaging in sexual activity,” defense attorney, Steven A. Greenberg said, according to New York Daily News. “If no others benefit, then the only member of the enterprise is Mr. Kelly.”
Kelly was indicted this past July under the RICO Act, which is a federal anti-racketeering statute. The charge alleges that Kelly and others recruited women and minors to have sex with him and also threatened them to report the crime to police, The Chicago Tribune reports.
Prosecutors have to prove that the singer was the “leader” of the crime.
“Robert Kelly is not an enterprise,” Kelly’s lead attorney, Steven Greenberg, wrote in the motion. “RICO was not designed as a means to punish a single individual for his own wrongful actions. RICO is only being used in this case in an effort to subvert various statutes of limitations.”
The Brooklyn’s US Attorney’s office did not comment on the motion.
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Kelly is also facing other charges in New York. One includes the singer allegedly bribing a government official back in 1994 to obtain a fake ID to marry R&B singer Aaliyah, who was underage at the time. He is also accused of taking a woman across state lines to have sex with her.
Kelly is facing criminal cases in Manhattan and Chicago as well.
In Chicago, Kelly is charged with his association with child pornography and sexually exploiting minors.
