R. Kelly Fla. Child Porn Charges Dropped

[RedefinedDiva]

When you mess with Bill Cosby, you have just gone TOO DAYUM FAR!!!

[abaici]

OK, they need their butts whupped for the pic. It's awful!!!

[CrimsonTide4]

Prosecutors Drop 7 Charges Vs. R. Kelly
2 hours, 1 minute ago Add Entertainment - AP to My Yahoo!



CHICAGO - 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 Friday.



Kelly 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.


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.


"It's a matter of course in cases like this that we'd drop charges right before trial," Lawrence said.


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.


A statement released Friday by the public relations firm that represents Kelly called the decision to drop the seven charges "the first official acknowledgment of the weakness of their case." Genson said he had no comment.


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


Kelly, whose first name is Robert, also has been charged with child pornography in Florida.


The 37-year-old singer is known for hits ranging from the Grammy-winning "I Believe I Can Fly" to sexually charged material such as "Ignition," off his recent double-platinum album, "Chocolate Factory."

[SummerChild]

Originally posted by CrimsonTide4
Prosecutors Drop 7 Charges Vs. R. Kelly
2 hours, 1 minute ago Add Entertainment - AP to My Yahoo!



CHICAGO - 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 Friday.



Kelly 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.


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.


"It's a matter of course in cases like this that we'd drop charges right before trial," Lawrence said.


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.


A statement released Friday by the public relations firm that represents Kelly called the decision to drop the seven charges "the first official acknowledgment of the weakness of their case." Genson said he had no comment.


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


Kelly, whose first name is Robert, also has been charged with child pornography in Florida.


The 37-year-old singer is known for hits ranging from the Grammy-winning "I Believe I Can Fly" to sexually charged material such as "Ignition," off his recent double-platinum album, "Chocolate Factory."

That's alright. We'll get RSmelly after all. He's not getting away.
SC

[Gina1201]

A judge ruled Thursday that digital photographs allegedly showing R. Kelly having sex with an underage girl were illegally obtained by Florida detectives and therefore cannot be used to try him on child-pornography charges in that state, The Associated Press reports.

Kelly, 37, currently faces 12 counts of child pornography in Florida, where deputies seized a digital camera — wrapped in a towel in a duffel bag — during a June 2002 drug raid of his Davenport home. If prosecutors do not appeal Thursday's (March 11) ruling, they would have to drop all charges against Kelly in Florida.

Although a judge did grant a warrant to the Polk County sheriff's detectives for the original search, Circuit Judge Dennis Maloney's new ruling supports the assertion by Kelly's lawyers that there was not enough evidence to justify the search in the first place, according to the AP.

Kelly was not present for the ruling, but his Chicago-based lawyer, Ed Genson, told the AP that Kelly was "very pleased" with the news.

This does not affect the 14 counts of child pornography Kelly faces in Chicago, where he was indicted in June 2002 on charges related to the videotape allegedly showing him engaged in sex acts with an underage girl.

—Nadira A. Hira

[SummerChild]

Originally posted by Gina1201
A judge ruled Thursday that digital photographs allegedly showing R. Kelly having sex with an underage girl were illegally obtained by Florida detectives and therefore cannot be used to try him on child-pornography charges in that state, The Associated Press reports.

Kelly, 37, currently faces 12 counts of child pornography in Florida, where deputies seized a digital camera — wrapped in a towel in a duffel bag — during a June 2002 drug raid of his Davenport home. If prosecutors do not appeal Thursday's (March 11) ruling, they would have to drop all charges against Kelly in Florida.

Although a judge did grant a warrant to the Polk County sheriff's detectives for the original search, Circuit Judge Dennis Maloney's new ruling supports the assertion by Kelly's lawyers that there was not enough evidence to justify the search in the first place, according to the AP.

Kelly was not present for the ruling, but his Chicago-based lawyer, Ed Genson, told the AP that Kelly was "very pleased" with the news.

This does not affect the 14 counts of child pornography Kelly faces in Chicago, where he was indicted in June 2002 on charges related to the videotape allegedly showing him engaged in sex acts with an underage girl.

—Nadira A. Hira

I can't understand why our police/detectives can't simply follow the law on matters such as this. Countless pieces of evidence are excluded each year in criminal cases b/c they have been obtained illegally.

They know the law so I don't know why they won't adhere to it when taking things for evidence. Good gracious.

SC

[MaMaBuddha]

what's up with r. kelly and this zorro masky thingy????

all his music is sounding the same now. i can almost choose any song and put it too the same beat.

[Gina1201]

From yahoo.com:

BARTOW, Fla. - Prosecutors here 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.

The decision, announced on Wednesday, doesn't mean that hitmaker is out of trouble. The R&B singer still faces 14 counts of child pornography in his homestate of Illinois stemming from a videotape allegedly showing him having sex with an underage girl.

But last week, Circuit Judge Dennis Maloney agreed with Kelly's attorneys that the Polk County sheriff's detectives did not have enough evidence to justify a 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.

Kelly's Chicago-based attorney, Ed Genson, did not immediately return a phone message.

Kelly, whose first name is Robert, is a best-selling singer, songwriter and producer who has worked with artists ranging from Britney Spears to Michael Jackson. His hits include "Ignition," "Step in the Name of Love," and "I Believe I Can Fly."

[msn4med1975]

Hey Gina,

just saw the same thing on MSN. They had just a little more detail but suffice it to say this seems strange. I'm not gonna comment on his guilt or innonence but you THINK folks would be a little more careful in BOTH cases if they wanted to make sure he was actually convicted.

[MeezDiscreet]

according to supa cindy...

R.Kelly won a round in court on Monday, when a Chicago judge ruled that prosecutors have to narrow the time frame in which they accuse him of making child pornography. The indictment gave a window of more than four years — from November 1, 1997 to February 1, 2002 — for which the act could have occurred, but Kelly's lawyers successfully argued that the time frame was so broad it prevented him from giving an alibi. Motions filed by his lawyers also suggest that the tape was made when the girl would have been of age. Kelly is due back in court on November 4th.

[Kimmie1913]

From the Chicago Sun TImes

A judge ruled that prosecutors must be more specific about when they think Kelly videotaped himself engaging in sex acts with an underage girl.

The indictment gives only a broad window of more than four years, from Nov. 1, 1997, to Feb. 1, 2002, during which prosecutors say the videotape was made at a house Kelly owned in Chicago.

Motions filed by Kelly's lawyers suggest he may argue that the tape was made at the end of that time span when the girl would have been 17 years old.

Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan said Illinois case law doesn't appear to allow prosecutors to be so vague.

"It just seems like an extraordinary amount of time," Gaughan said.

It also suggests the actual time from is late 98 to 99 based on commercials and songs being plaued.