AceShowbiz - R. Kelly has formally denied an accusation that he used bribery to obtain a fake Aaliyah ID. The "I Believe I Can Fly" singer entered a not guilty plea to the revamped federal indictment against him brought by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn on Wednesday, December 18.

The 52-year-old entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in Brooklyn federal court by video conference from Illinois, Chicago, where he is currently jailed. Joined by attorney Steve Greenberg, he spoke only to greet the judge from the Eastern District of New York and to confirm he understood the superseding indictment.

After the brief hearing, another of Kelly's attorneys, Douglas Anton, said that the bribery allegation is "ridiculous." Giving an update on his client's condition, he said that the embattled singer is doing well and is writing "uplifting" lyrics while in jail.

The bribery allegation involving late singer Aaliyah was added in a superseding indictment in Brooklyn on December 5. Prosecutors claimed that the R&B singer caused another person to offer a bribe to a government official to create a fake ID for a person identified by the pseudonym "Jane Doe #1." The "Jane Doe" is believed to be Aaliyah, who was only 15 years old when then-27-year-old Kelly married her in 1994.

In a 2008 interview, Kelly's tour manager, Demetrius Smith, said that he facilitated the wedding by obtaining falsified identification for Aaliyah which listed her as 18 years of age. Their marriage was annulled in 1995 and Aaliyah died in a plane accident at 22 years old in 2001.

Kelly is indicted on multiple charges of racketeering, kidnapping, forced labor and sexual exploitation of a child in Brooklyn. He is also facing separate allegations of child sexual exploitation, child pornography production and obstruction of justice in Chicago, in addition to being charged with soliciting a minor and prostitution in Minnesota.

A trial in Chicago has been scheduled for April 27, 2020.