A representative from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office in Chicago says prosecutors today (Feb. 27) agreed to drop seven of 21 counts against R. Kelly in the R&B star’s ongoing child pornography case.
Kelly was arrested in 2002 after a videotape in which he allegedly had sex with an underage girl was sent to the Chicago Sun-Times. He faces charges of child pornography in Illinois and Florida in connection with the tape.
R. Kelly’s attorney Edward M. Genson had filed a motion to dismiss the counts last December, arguing that they accused the artist of violating child-pornography laws that hadn’t yet been enacted when the alleged conduct took place.
A state’s attorney spokesperson described today’s action as “routine,” and says it represents a narrowing of the prosecutor’s case.
R. Kelly’s lawyers have filed 10 other motions to dismiss the remaining charges, and the next hearing is planned for April 2 in Chicago.
