The U.S. Department of Justice is checking to see whether singer R. Kelly violated a federal statute when he flew a girl across the country four years ago when she was allegedly underage.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations has opened a second inquiry on the 52-year-old “Bump N Grind” crooner because they recently learned that he arranged a flight for Azriel Clary from Palm Springs, California, to Orlando, Florida, in 2015.
Clary, who was featured on the highly inflammatory documentary “Surviving R. Kelly,” was 17 at the time of the flight on May 25, 2015, TMZ is reporting. The entertainment publication also reports this could put Kelly in legal hot water.
The feds are also checking to see if Robert Sylvester Kelly is in violation of The Mann Act. This bill was signed into law by President Taft in 1910, making it illegal to transport a woman or girl across any state line in the United States “for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose.”
Sources close to Kelly informed TMZ that the singer did nothing wrong since Azriel Clary’s mom, Alice, gave permission for the daughter to be flown across the country, ostensibly to be under the adult supervision of R. Kelly’s assistant. The assistant is the one who arranged the flight.
TMZ is in possession of the note Clary’s family allegedly wrote giving permission for the minor to leave the care of the family and work with Kelly. The singer and his camp believe this should vindicate him of any beliefs that he had ill intentions for the young girl.
As rolling out previously reported, federal agents have also been probing into the case of Joycelyn Savage, who was also featured on “Surviving R. Kelly.” The FBI had actually contacted Savage’s father multiple times long before the docu-series detonated on the Lifetime channel.
