According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Judge Vincent Gaughan decided on the date after meeting with Kelly, his defense lawyers and prosecutors for an hour and a half yesterday. Kelly is facing 14 counts of child pornography for allegedly videotaping himself in various sexual situations with a girl who prosecutors claim was 14 at the time.
The case has been fraught with delays since it was brought in 2002. Over the course of the last five years Kelly's attorneys have filed more than 20 motions, Judge Gaughan has fallen off a ladder and Kelly has suffered a burst appendix. Lead prosecutor Shauna Boliker is expecting her third child on August 29, but has vowed to be ready for the trial's start date a little more than two weeks later.
Kelly, in a statement issued through his publicist, sounded ready for the proceedings: "He believes in our system of justice and is looking forward to finally having his day in court. He's confident that when all the facts come out, it will be clear that he is not guilty of any crime."
