Three men charged with threatening, intimidating or attempting to silence R Kelly accusers

One man is accused of setting fire to an SUV outside residence when alleged victim was staying

R. Kelly leaves a court hearing in Chicago. The embattled singer's trial is finally approaching. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Three men have been arrested and charged with threatening, intimidating, or attempting to silence R Kelly’s alleged victims.

The three separate criminal complaints were unsealed on Tuesday in federal court in Brooklyn.

They are connected to a racketeering case currently pending against Kelly in New York City. Kelly has pleaded not guilty to dozens of state and federal sexual misconduct charges in Illinois, Minnesota and New York.

Richard Arline Jr, identified by the prosecution as ”a self-proclaimed longtime friend of Kelly”, is accused of “[attempting] to illegally influence the cooperation and testimony of an alleged victim in the Kelly case” through a scheme in which the person would receive compensation, including a $500,000 payment “to keep her from cooperating with the government”.

According to authorities, the alleged victim got in touch with law enforcement after learning of the plan and continued communicating with Arline Jr under their supervision.

Intercepted communications include Arline Jr “discussing plans to pay the victim ‘to be quiet,’”, according to a release, and “explaining that ‘if I had a way to talk to Rob [Kelly], being next to him, and telling him what’s going on, without nobody listening to, no feds, nobody, he gonna pay her . . . off to be quiet’ because ‘[s]he got too much. She got too much.’”

A second defendant, Donnell Russell, is accused of threatening to reveal sexually explicit photographs of an alleged victim and to reveal her sexual history if she did not withdraw a lawsuit against Kelly.

Russell is identified by authorities as ”a self-described manager, advisor and friend of Kelly”.

A third man, Michael Williams, allegedly set fire to an SUV that was parked outside a residence where an alleged victim was staying in Florida. The vehicle, which allegedly was leased by that person’s father, was “heavily damaged”, a release states.

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 allege.

Authorities describe Williams as “a relative of an individual who once served as a publicist for Kelly”.

Kelly’s attorney Steve Greenberg said on Twitter the singer has “no involvement whatsoever” with the tree men.

“Without question, Robert Kelly had nothing to do with any of these alleged acts by those charged. He hasn’t attempted to intimidate anyone, or encouraged anyone else to do so,” Greenberg wrote.

Acting United States Attorney DuCharme said in a statement: “The defendants are separately charged with engaging in multiple crimes that were intended to undermine and subvert the integrity of the criminal justice system and victimize the women who have come forward with serious allegations of criminal conduct against the defendant R Kelly.

“Efforts to illegally influence pending federal cases, whether through threats of violence, intimidation, damage to property, or payments to buy a potential witness’s silence, will not be tolerated.”

The Independent has contacted Greenberg for further comment. Arline Jr, Russell, and Williams couldn’t immediately be contacted for comment.

Additional reporting by agencies