Federal prosecutors announced charges Wednesday against three men accused of threatening and intimidating women who have accused R&B singer R. Kelly of abuse, including one man suspected of setting fire to a vehicle in Florida.
A longtime friend of the indicted singer offered to pay a victim $500,000 to keep her from cooperating in Kelly's prosecution, authorities said, while a manager and adviser of Kelly threatened to release sexually explicit photographs of a woman who sued Kelly.
The Grammy-award winning musician has denied ever abusing anyone and has pleaded not guilty to dozens of state and federal sexual misconduct charges in Illinois, Minnesota, and New York.
The charges range from sexual assault to heading a racketeering scheme aimed at supplying Kelly with girls. Kelly also is accused of having unprotected sex with a girl in 2015 without disclosing he had herpes.
Prosecutors described a third man accused of intimidating witnesses as being related to a former Kelly publicist. They said Michael Williams, 37, of Valdosta, Georgia, traveled to Florida in June and set fire to an SUV parked outside a residence where one of Kelly's victims was staying.
Williams also conducted Internet searches for "the detonation properties of fertilizer and diesel fuel, witness intimidation and witness tampering and countries that do not have extradition with the United States," authorities said in a news release.
A message was sent to Williams' attorney seeking comment.
Jill and Carlo are discussing the latest allegations against their governor, plus the new AstraZeneca vaccine results, an historic repeal of the death penalty and remembering Neven Stanisic of the Boulder shooting.
Cheddar's Michelle Castillo spoke with Jonathan Mayers, CEO of Superfly X, about the flagship Friends Experience in Manhattan.
Posting that photo of yourself next to your vaccination card on social media could potentially make you a target for people trying to steal your personal information.
Hairstylist to stars like eyoncé, Nicki Minaj, and Tyra Banks, Kim Kimble wants Black women to be able to embrace and maintain their natural looks.
More than three months into the U.S. vaccination drive, many of the numbers paint an increasingly encouraging picture.
Officials say a skyscraper-sized container ship has become wedged across Egypt’s Suez Canal and blocked all traffic in the vital waterway.
What we know about the suspect and the victims in the Boulder grocery store shooting. Also, Netanyahu holds a lead in the latest Israel election, Texas opens vaccine eligibility, and why Wall Street's top firms are trying to ease their infamous workloads.
A hefty tax benefit helped drive GameStop’s fiscal fourth-quarter profit sharply higher, but the video-game retailer’s sales declined despite a surge in its online business. The latest results fell short of Wall Street’s expectations.
Court documents show that the 21-year-old suspect in the Colorado supermarket shooting purchased an assault rifle less than a week before the attack that killed 10 people.
Prince Harry has joined the corporate world as employee coaching and mental health firm BetterUp Inc.’s Chief Impact Officer.
