R. Kelly child pornography trial strats next month

R&B singer R. Kelly will stand trial for child pornography charges next month, a Cook County judge decided Wednesday.

Jury selection in the high-profile case will begin Sept. 17, more than five years after his arrest.

The 40-year-old Grammy winner faces 14 counts of child pornography for allegedly videotaping a sexual encounter with a teenage girl. Prosecutors have said the victim could be as young as 13.

Kelly, who made a brief courtroom appearance Wednesday, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

The case is expected to last about a month and attract international media attention. Court officials say they have already fielded phone calls from news organizations in countries as far away as Japan.

The case has undergone repeated delays -- some of them for bizarre reasons -- since Kelly's 2002 arrest. The singer waived his right to a speedy trial, a move that allowed his high-priced defense team to file over 30 pre-trial motions.

The trial also was pushed back because Judge Vincent Michael Gaughan and Kelly attorney Ed Genson were involved in two of this year's biggest trials. Genson represented newspaper magnate Conrad Black in his fraud trial this summer, while Gaughan presided over the Brown's Chicken murder case in the spring.

Other delays were for more unexpected reasons, including Kelly's emergency surgery last February for a burst appendix. The trial was also postponed last summer when Gaughan fell off a ladder and broke his back.

The looming legal battle, however, has not slowed Kelly's career. He has released five albums and a greatest hits collection in the past five years. He also has completed three concert tours, including a controversial one with rapper Jay-Z, with the courts permission.