"Surviving R. Kelly": My Thoughts from a Legal Perspective

There has been a lot of talk and news reporting in regards to a recent documentary series titled Surviving R. Kelly, released by Lifetime Movie Network. With its release, it has pretty much caused a social media frenzy! Everyone has had something to say. Additionally, many are now starting to speak out against R. Kelly, calling for radio stations and streaming platforms to #MuteRKelly.

(Source: Discogs

With all of the backlash R. Kelly is receiving now, one has to ask the question...why? Why is he receiving so much backlash, media scrutiny, and boycotts now? Why has Lifetime decided to release this documentary now? Some might read these questions I'm posing and ask: why does it matter when he's receiving backlash? Shouldn't we all be more focused on the issue(s) at hand, and the fact that this man has been a predator for many years and has not seen any jail time?

Well, based on that possible opposing question, I have started thinking about this entire R. Kelly saga more critically; and I came to the conclusion of two more questions:

1. Are any of the media outlets talking about R. Kelly's alleged predatory behavior from a legal perspective?
2. Has anyone viewed this ordeal from a psychological perspective?

The way my mind and critical thinking skills operate is in a way that always likes to pin point root causes. It oftentimes leans more towards two important questions:  Why? and How? Why did something happen and How did it happen?

Since I have not heard anyone else provide a critical analysis of R. Kelly's dilemma from a legal or psychological perspective, I intend to do just that within this blog post. Because I have so much to say and want to keep this post as effectively minimal as possible due to the short attention span of some, I will split this subject matter into a 2-Part blog post: 1.) Legal Perspective 2.) Psychological Perspective.

With the first part being focused on my thoughts from a Legal perspective, I MUST provide the following DISCLAIMER:

I, K. R. WATKINS, AM NOT A PARALEGAL, ATTORNEY, OR ANY LICENSED OR CERTIFIED LEGAL PROFESSIONAL. ALL WRITINGS WITHIN THIS BLOG POST ARE TO BE TREATED AS OPINIONS BASED UPON LEGAL TERMS THAT CAN BE RESEARCHED BY ANY U.S. CITIZEN.

Before I continue with my thoughts and opinions, let me start out by stating a few facts.

FACTS:

• Robert Sylvester Kelly and Aaliyah Dana Haughton were married in the state of Illinois on 08/31/1994. (Source: Marriage Certificate)
• Robert Sylvester Kelly was born on 01/08/1967.
• Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born on 01/16/1979.
• At the time of R. Kelly and Aaliyah's marriage, he was 27 and she was only 15.
• The Age of Consent in the State of Illinois is 17. (Source:  Legal Match)
• R. Kelly was acquitted of child pornography charges in June of 2008.

Based on the Illinois Age of Consent laws, I began to wonder...how did they get married? Who provided Aaliyah with a fake I.D. in order to get married? Did someone forge her signature on the application for a marriage license?

These are all valid questions, because I do recall having to present a valid form of identification both times I got married (filed for marriage licenses).

Let's also consider the big age difference between the two. At the time of their marriage, R. Kelly was 12 years older than Aaliyah. With that being said, it makes you wonder if she was singing about him in her song titled "Age Ain't Nothing But A Number". Even if you look back at that album cover, it appears as though he is in the background of the album cover picture...

(Source: Amazon)

Maybe age didn't matter back in the 18th and 19th century for our great-grandparents and beyond, but in the 20th and 21st century it definitely matters; hence the laws that were created.

Speaking of great-grandparents...If I'm not mistaken, my great-grandmother married my great-grandfather when she was only 15, and he was 19. So, if she was born in 1915, then that means they would've gotten married sometime in 1930. This is just an example of how times were different back then. People were getting married young during that time as a way of survival and to support their families. Nowadays, there are laws put in place to prevent young people from being taken advantage of by perverts, molesters, pedophiles, and all other forms of abuse.

Speaking of Age of Consent, R. Kelly was acquitted of 14 counts of child pornography charges back in 2008 because the identity of the female in the video could not be legally determined. Based on the opening paragraph from the New York Times article dated June 14, 2008, "It took more than six years for prosecutors to get the R&B star R. Kelly into court on charges of child pornography." - New York Times Source

(Source: Pixabay)

For it to take them six years to get him into court, that means the investigation, allegations, or sex tape release had to have started sometime in 2002. With that being said, let's consider what we know and what others should've known about R. Kelly, Aaliyah, & others around them at the time of his trial...

•  Although I cannot find a reputable source to show a specific date as to when it happened, but based upon any Google search you'll see that Aaliyah's marriage to R. Kelly was annulled.
• One can only speculate that it was annulled AFTER her attorney and/or family found out about it. So, after they found out about the marriage, why weren't there any legal charges brought against R. Kelly just on the basis of Statutory Rape & the Illinois Age of Consent law?
• After Aaliyah's mother and family found out about the marriage, why didn't they or the State file charges of Statutory Rape against him?
• The marriage (1994) took place BEFORE the child pornography allegations/charges (2002 & 2008). So, shouldn't the people around R. Kelly have gotten him some help after that marriage to prevent the possibility of him marrying another underage person or the possibility of him getting involved with another underage female?
• Shouldn't this marriage have been a sign that something was going on internally with both of them? Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge, neither one of them sought counseling.

Regardless of how much money an individual has, I thought no one was above the law?

So, knowing that R. Kelly did in fact marry Aaliyah when she was underage, why would any grown ass woman subject her own, underage daughter, to him? 

**I am not saying that he is guilty, and I am not saying that he is innocent. I still haven't even watched the documentary series yet. I'm just saying...common sense should tell anyone that they should proceed with caution when allowing their young teenager to be alone with ANY grown-up, especially if you do not know them personally.**

Now let's talk about another legal fact:  DOUBLE JEOPARDY

Double Jeopardy is defined as the following...

"Placing someone on trial a second time for an offense for which he/she has been previously acquitted, even when new incriminating evidence has been unearthed." - Law Dictionary

Based on the Double Jeopardy law, R. Kelly cannot be tried for any of the same offenses or 14 cases he was acquitted for back in 2008!

This is why I believe Lifetime Movie Network should not have aired that documentary. Furthermore, unless there are new victims or new charges, R. Kelly cannot be re-tried on old cases that he has already been acquitted of.

Although I have not seen the actual documentary, I have seen and heard a few video clips of other people speaking about it; and I will say this, regardless of me watching it or not, I do believe that it is possible for some of these women to be lying just to jump on the bandwagon expecting to gain "fifteen minutes of fame", recognition, and/or money. However, because I have not heard of anyone coming forward with any physical evidence or proof of his abuse, it will always just be their word against his; and that can be considered "hearsay" in a court of law.  That definition can also be found by visiting the Law Dictionary website (link above).

Another legal fact to consider is:  AIDING & ABETTING

Aiding & Abetting is defined as...

"to help someone commit a crime." - Law Dictionary

Let's consider a few of the questions I posed in the above bullet points.

Whomever lied and/or forged Aaliyah's signature on the State of Illinois Marriage License Application, would've and should've been charged with the crime of Aiding & Abetting; simply because it was against the state's law for a minor to get married.

We also have to consider all adults who were within R. Kelly's circle who saw any type of suspicious behavior and didn't say anything or report it. If any of these allegations against him are true, someone had to have seen and/or heard something! Someone had to have collected some type of evidence. Also, if R. Kelly is guilty of any of these allegations, and there were other adults present when they took place, I believe that all of them should be facing charges of Aiding & Abetting or even Negligence! 

Based on this legal term and the fact that both of them had people around them constantly, I now have to look at everyone within the music industry with a side eye; because if Aaliyah and R. Kelly was having an inappropriate relationship and no one checked them about it, whose to say there weren't other similar relationships going on within the industry?

I'm sure many will say that it wasn't an issue back then, but I beg to differ; because right is right, and wrong is wrong. In this day and age, the grown-up in the situation should always be the one to not allow things to go so far. It should be checked and shut down immediately!

In conclusion I'll say this...

As adults, we all should hold ourselves at higher standards than minors. We should be helping them, not hurting them or "aiding & abetting" others who commit crimes against them. If you wouldn't want your mother, daughter, sister, wife, or aunt subjected to any form of abuse, then you MUST speak up and say something to defend them in their time of need. As a matter of fact, this doesn't just apply to women. It applies to boys and men as well; because girls and women aren't the only ones who can be preyed upon or taken advantage of. 

I want to leave you with this thought and Call to Action:  

IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING...or CALL FOR HELP!