R. Kelly Charges Revised

Prosecutors narrowed the timeframe in which they allege singer R. Kelly was videotaped engaging in sex acts with an underage girl, but defense attorneys say it's still too broad.

The new time span announced Wednesday still covers nearly three years — January 1998 to October 2000. Defense attorney Ed Genson says prosecutors need to narrow that to two days or the indictment should be dismissed.

Kelly was arrested in 2002 and has pleaded not guilty to 14 counts of child pornography.

Judge Vincent Gaughan last month agreed that the prosecution's timeframe was overly broad, so prosecutors reinterviewed witnesses and re-examined the tape, which includes commercials on a television in the background. They cut 18 months off their original timeframe of November 1997 to February 2002.

"Hopefully, this will clarify the issue and we can move on," said Assistant State's Attorney Robert Heilingoetter. The case has already dragged out for three years.

Three witnesses also testified about the videotape Wednesday, including a woman who said she was a longtime friend of the female allegedly seen on the tape with Kelly.

Simha Jamison, 21, of Oak Park, said she recognized her friend because they both had the same hairstyle at the time. She said the girl was about 14 then.

"We got that haircut in 8th grade," Jamison testified.

The judge didn't immediately rule on the motion to dismiss the indictment and continued the hearing to next week.

Kelly won a Grammy in 1997 for "I Believe I Can Fly" and is also known for sexually charged music like "Bump N' Grind."