Seven child pornography charges dropped against singer R. Kelly

Jet, March 22, 2004

Prosecutors dropped seven of 21 charges against R&B singer R. Kelly in his child pornography case, in what they described as a routine pretrial move.

Robert Kelly, 37, was arrested in June 2002 after a videotape surfaced allegedly showing him having sex with an underage girl. He remains charged with 14 counts of child pornography and has pleaded innocent (JET, Feb. 10, 2003).

The seven counts dropped involved charges of soliciting a minor to appear in child pornography, said Jerry Lawrence, spokesman for the Cook County state's attorney's office.

At a December court hearing, defense lawyer Edward Genson had moved to dismiss those counts, arguing the statute Kelly supposedly violated was enacted after the tape allegedly was shot.

No trial date has been set. The next hearing is April 2.

Kelly also has been charged with child pornography in Florida.