R. Kelly Under Fire

Two months after a sex tape surfaced allegedly showing the R&B star committing lewd acts with an underage girl and prompted Chicago police to launch an investigation, one of Kelly's former protégées tells a Los Angeles radio station that the tape's purported victim is her 14-year-old niece, whom she introduced to the singer.

Sparkle, the rapper who collaborated with Kelly on the 1998 hit "Be Careful," says she allowed her now 17-year-old niece (whose name is being withheld) to hang out with Kelly to help further her career. The girl was at the time an aspiring hip-hop performer.

During an interview with "The Beat" radio station earlier this month, Sparkle said she initially had no qualms about Kelly coming into contact with her niece, since Sparkle's family kept close ties with the 35-year-old crooner (her brother-in-law plays guitar for Kelly).

But Sparkle said she now feels guilty for not keeping a closer eye on the girl, who was 12 when she first was introduced to Kelly.

"Although I'm not responsible for his actions, I feel responsible for even taking her there," Sparkle told the station, according to MTV News. "It's messed up. She's being exposed to the world. It's sickening."

Sparkle also said her family is split about letting the matter go public, with some members willing to protect Kelly from prosecution should it come down to that, while Sparkle has cooperated with investigators building a case against the singer.

Kelly, who is best known for hits like "Bump n' Grind," "I Believe I Can Fly" and "Sex Me," has repeatedly denied the charges through his lawyer, even as the much-bootlegged tape makes the rounds on the same underground circuit that made the Pamela and Tommy Lee video a must-see.

The singer also suggests he might be the subject of an unspecified conspiracy. "I've been blackmailed for the last four years, and I didn't give in, and I'm still not gonna give in...There are a lot of people who are very jealous of me right now...and they're trying to destroy me," he told Chicago radio station WGCI on April 4.

He says he has hired a private detective to track down the real culprits out to frame him.

Still, he is unable to shake the mounting accusations and he is increasingly coming under legal fire for crossing the line with his young charges. In 1994, he secretly married a teenage Aaliyah when he was in his 20s. When the late singer's parents found out about the marriage, it was quickly annulled and both artists subsequently refused to comment on it.

He has already settled two suits alleging bad behavior--making them disappear before the allegations could be aired in court. Two weeks ago, he reached an undisclosed deal with Tracy Sampson, who had accused Kelly of seducing her when she was a 17-year-old intern at Epic Records. In 1998, he paid a reported $250,000 to Tiffany Hawkins, who claimed Kelly had intercourse with her and talked her into participating in an orgy with other teenage girls when she was 15.

MTV reports at least two other women are preparing similar actions against the singer.

Meanwhile, sales of his latest album, a collaboration with Jay-Z titled The Best of Both Worlds that was expected to be one of the year's biggest albums, has been underperfoming. Industry insiders say sales not only have been hurt by the budding scandal, but by a lack of publicity. Def Jam has canceled plans for a video and tour, according to Entertainment Weekly. Def Jam didn't even put the artists' faces on the album cover.

And an anticipated duet with red-hot R&B babe Ashanti on her monster-selling debut album was scuttled when she decided to perform with Ja Rule instead.

Besides being dissed by his fellow artists, Kelly has also been the subject of a nationwide boycott and several record-smashing demonstrations. To help offset the bad pub, the Grammy-winning singer has announced he's releasing a new benefit single called "Soldier's Heart." His next album, Loveland, is due out in November.

As for the Chicago investigation, police say they are still probing the matter and have not yet filed any charges.