Fla. Child Porn Charges Against R. Kelly Dropped

The Associated Press
Published on: 03/17/04

BARTOW, Fla. -- Polk County prosecutors dropped all child pornography charges in Florida against R & B singer R. Kelly on Wednesday.
The decision followed a judge's ruling last week that detectives illegally seized photographs allegedly showing the singer having sex with an underage girl, meaning they could not be used against him.

Prosecutors decided not to appeal the ruling by Circuit Judge Dennis Maloney, choosing instead to drop the 12 charges, Assistant State Attorney Chip Thulberry said.

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.

Kelly — whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly — also faces 14 counts of child pornography charges in Chicago and has pleaded innocent. Those charges were not affected by the Polk County case.

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

Although this news upsets me, people have to follow the law.

TheOrgerFormerlyKnownAs said:

Point is, everyone knows the guy is guilty.

Plus he looked like an utter twat in that Lone Ranger mask.

mochalox said:

Motherfucker is guilty as sin!!!

mochalox said:

Yeah, maybe they should do a duet, or maybe R("obin") Kelly ought to get OJ to play Mr Biggs in his next video.

JediMaster said:

Yes, yes, yes - but you see, the law is the law.

Besides, the really ironic thing is that everyone who sold, bought and watched the incriminating video is guilty of selling, distributing, owning and viewing child porn.

Kelly — whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly — also faces 14 counts of child pornography charges in Chicago and has pleaded innocent. Those charges were not affected by the Polk County case.


Read it again. A search warrant issued on dubious grounds in Fla. means a few digi still photos of him in a compromising position can't be used so Fla. charges were dropped. HE STILL FACES ALL CHARGES RELATING TO THE VIDEO.
[This message was edited Wed Mar 17 14:59:28 2004 by VoicesCarry]

Shapeshifter said:

OH MY. i know someone at home in the states that saw that video! you are soooo right! now i fully realize why i was arguing with the person that saw the video, because they tried to explain to me (with obvious disdain for the "child" involved) that the girl in the video looked like she knew exactly what she was doing in terms of her sexual expertise, and i was like "FOOL, THAT IS NOT THE ISSUE!" the girl in question was a MINOR and folks shouldn't be sitting around the tv watching that stuff like it's the latest reality tv show.

...and can you believe that this was a WOMAN i was having this argument with? good grief.

ReeseStrongnight said:

Actually I can. No offence to either you or your friend intended, but she's probably an R Kelly fan, looking for a way to live with the fact that her idol likes underage girls.

As for the girl's (isn't she Sparkle's niece?) alleged sexual expertise - she was no doubt already sexually active, and maybe she'd even been with much older men, but that doesn't make what R(obin) Kradle did any less legal or right. Besides, it's not like the so-called "Pied Piper of R n B" (maybe he'll get around to calling himself the "Child Catcher" next) hasn't had a history of doing this.

Great..



Judicial system is amazing isnt it..

Sdldawn said:

Yeah, OJ's got the t shirt.

The other charges still stand though.

VoicesCarry said:

I'm glad someone can read...

Rhondab said:

ReeseStrongnight said:

The level that I have heard some Black women(with my own ears) stick up for this piece of shit human being and blame the girl truly makes my stomach turn.

TheOrgerFormerlyKnownAs said:

That's the power of celebrity worship for you. You'll always find a way to defend the one you idolise.
[This message was edited Thu Mar 18 14:52:43 2004 by Shapeshifter]

I swear 2 God R.Kelly has 9 lives! How this guy has not wound up in jail yet after all the shit he's done over the course of his career is beyond me! He should be locked up just on general principle at this point.

lucky him...he's still gulity of "Sylvester" rhyming with "Molester"

:mad2

You know what I don't get, is how the media is crucifying Michael Jackson for his molestation charges, yet almost ignoring R Kelly. I mean, with MJ its all this kid's accusations, but with R the whole damned thing is on friggin' videotape! Is it that its somehow okay for a man to have sex with a minor if its a girl?? Is this country that homophobic, as well as completely whacked in the head??

JediMaster said:

whacked in the head gets my vote

JediMaster said:

I can't speak for overseas but here in the states Jacko is a "pop" artist (white folks are interested in him) and R Kelly is an R&B artist (white folks aint interested in him). If R was appealing musically to white folks you best believe he would be in the news as much as Jacko. That is how it works for the most paerthere in the states!

nammie said:

R. Kelly's main audience isn't the pop audience? Could've fooled me.... Tons of white people listen to this guy, it's not a race issue. It's a victim gender issue. Apparently, porking a young girl is acceptable enough but not a young boy. Michael is still a deviant homosexual. R. was just sowing his wild oats. Or something.

VoicesCarry said:

And that's just fucking sick. Assuming for a minute both R. and Michael are guilty, they should be getting the same media treatment.

It really does come down to gender. Sad to say that in 2004 North Americans are still this homophobic. It's been known for years that R. likes em young, but nobody said much about it. But ever since the first set of accusations against MJ in '93, you couldn't hear his name without them being brought up. And have you heard some of the MJ "jokes" floating around, posing as humour?

Makes me sick.

I'm tired of "the law"...

"The law" is allowing a convicted sex offender to reside ACROSS THE STREET from an Elementary school in Oakland, CA...

"The law" is allowing a strip club to be run NEXT DOOR to another school in the Bay Area...

Some of these laws allow some serious BULLSHIT to happen, especially to our children it seems. If R gets off in Chicago, I'm gonna set some shit on fire

JediMaster said:

TOTALLY AGREE