R. Kelly trial delayed until '08

CHILD PORN CASE | Lawyer bickering may be the reason

Kelly, 40, had been scheduled to go on trial Sept. 17 on child pornography charges. But Judge Vincent Gaughan said in court Tuesday it would be postponed.

"We are not going to be going to trial the 17th of September," Gaughan said, without explaining why not.

Shauna Boliker, the lead prosecutor on the case, gave birth to a son last week. In an e-mail to reporters, Gaughan's media liaison Terry Sullivan said Boliker "is not able to proceed at this time" because of "doctor's orders."

But other sources attributed the latest delay to lawyers' wrangling over expert witnesses the prosecutors want to call.

Prosecutors charged Kelly in 2002 with making a 26-minute videotape in which he appears to be having sex with an underage girl. Kelly pleaded not guilty. The girl, allegedly 14 on the tape, is now 22 and has denied she is the one who appears.

The case has been plagued by delays from the beginning, with the defense and prosecution blaming each other. Then, in July 2006, Gaughan suffered injuries after falling from a ladder at his Chicago home. When he returned, Gaughan presided over the trial of now-convicted Brown's Chicken killer Juan Luna.

A law enforcement source said the R. Kelly case will not go to trial until the spring of 2008 -- after the trial of accused Brown's Chicken killer James Degorski, Luna's alleged accomplice. On Tuesday, Gaughan set a Feb. 13, 2008, trial date for Degorski.

Gaughan is expected to announce a new trial date for Kelly on Sept. 10.

Lawyers for both sides declined to comment on the latest delay, citing a gag order in the case. A spokesman for Kelly also declined to comment.