Child pornography charges in Florida dropped against singer R. Kelly

Jet, April 5, 2004

Prosecutors in Florida dropped all child pornography charges against R. Kelly after a judge ruled that photos allegedly showing the singer having sex with an underage girl were illegally seized.

Circuit Judge Dennis Maloney agreed with Kelly's attorneys that the Polk County sheriffs detectives did not have enough evidence to justify the search of Kelly's Davenport home when the deputies asked a judge for a warrant in June 2002.

The photographs were on a digital camera that was wrapped in a towel inside a duffel bag.

Prosecutors decided not to appeal Maloney's decision and instead dropped the 12 charges against Kelly, Assistant State Attorney Chip Thulberry said.

The decision doesn't mean that the hitmaker is out of trouble. The R&B singer still faces 14 counts of child pornography in his home state of Illinois, stemming from a video-tape that allegedly shows him having sex with an underage girl.

Prosecutors in Chicago recently dropped seven of 21 child pornography charges against the performer (JET, March 22). The seven counts dropped involved charges of soliciting a minor to appear in child pornography.