Prosecutors believe some of the charges against R. Kelly don’t fly.

Seven of 21 child-pornography charges against the embattled R&B singer were dropped Friday in what prosecutors called standard pretrial procedure.

The tossed-out counts involve allegations of soliciting a minor to participate in child porn, according to Jerry Lawrence, a spokesman for the Cook County State Attorney’s office.

Kelly’s lawyer, Edward Genson, had moved to have the charges dropped at a December hearing, arguing that the statute allegedly violated by Kelly was enacted after the tape was made.

Genson did not comment on the development, but a rep for Kelly issued a statement calling the prosecution’s decision to dismiss the charges “the first official acknowledgment of the weakness of their case.”

Kelly was arrested in June 2002, after a videotape of him allegedly having sex with an underage girl popped into the public domain.

He remains charged with 14 counts of child pornography and has pleaded innocent across the board.

He is additionally charged with 12 separate counts of child pornography in Florida.

At Friday’s hearing, Judge Vincent Gaughan granted Kelly permission to attend the 2004 Soul Train Awards in Los Angeles on March 20.

Kelly is up for Best Male R&B/Soul Album and Album of the Year for Chocolate Factory.

Once the party’s over, Kelly is due back in court in Chicago on April 2.

Credit: E! Online