As R.Kelly stands trial for allegations of sex trafficking, it was recently revealed that he engaged in “underage sexual contact” with late R&B singer Aaliyah.

The damning statement was shared during a pretrial hearing and came from one of Kelly’s lawyers who said “The defense does concede that Mr Kelly had underage sexual contact with Jane Doe #1,” The Independent reported.

“Are you going to deny that there was sexual contact with Jane Doe 1? They were married,” Judge Ann Donnelly asked on Tuesday, according to the Daily Beast.

“No,” Kelly’s defense lawyer Thomas Farinella responded.

CNN identified the anonymous victim as Aaliyah. 

It was added that the offense occurred when Kelly and Aaliyah were illegally married, Oxygen reported. 

The Chicago native’s lawyers attempted to dismiss allegations involving Jane Doe #1 due to her “unfortunate passing… on 25 August 2001,” further adding that “she is legally unavailable.”

Aaliyah passed away on Aug. 25, 2001, after a tragic plane crash headed back to the United States from the Bahamas to film a music video for the singer’s hit song “Rock the Boat.”

The late singer was only 22 years old at the time of her death. 

The information was shared after a request for additional details as evidence to create a broader case against Kelly for racketeering. In addition to the admittance, prosecutors also wish to admit into evidence an alleged bribe paid to a state employee to create a fake ID for a 15-year-old girl who said she was 18.

If the evidence is allowed into the courtroom, according to the Chicago Tribune, the government will attempt to argue that the marriage was a direct result of Kelly wanting to avoid criminal charges after Aaliyah became pregnant. 

Two years prior to her passing, a report by The Chicago Sun-Times disclosed evidence that Aaliyah had previously requested to have her marriage with Kelly expunged. The report revealed that the two were married on Aug. 31, 1994, and that Aaliyah listed herself as 18 years old at the time. 

Despite both singers denying marriage rumors, in 2016, Kelly said he was “best friends, deep friends” with Aaliyah. A lawyer for the jailed singer admitted in 2019, however, that the two were married but Kelly had “no idea” Aaliyah was only 15, saying she “had to lie about her age.”