Judge won't dismiss R Kelly charges

"There is sufficient evidence for Mr. Kelly to prepare a defense," Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan ruled.

Judge Gaughan's decision takes Mr Kelly closer to trial in the three-year case. His next court date is on 9 December.

The singer, 38, has pleaded not guilty to 14 counts of child pornography reports BBC.

Prosecutors have a tape showing Kelly having sex with a girl they claim was underage at the time it was recorded, which they say was sometime between January 1998 and November 1, 2000.

But they modified their timeframe, making it 18 months shorter, after a judge agreed in June it was too broad

Kelly's lawyers had sought to have the charges dismissed, saying the length of the period in which the tape was supposed to be recorded made it impossible for him to defend against because he could not provide an alibi for any specific date.

Prosecutors contend the girl on the tape was 14 years old at the time of the filming.