R. Kelly Accusers Celebrate Guilty Verdict In Federal Trial

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Several of R. Kelly's accusers rejoiced Monday afternoon (September 27) after the disgraced R&B singer was found guilty in the federal racketeering and sexual abuse case against him.

"The verdict? Guilty." Jerhonda Pace, one of Kelly's victims, wrote on Instagram after the verdict came down. Pace took the stand in the trial, testifying in court that Kelly had abused her for years.

The singer Sparkle, whose name is Stephanie Edwards, told The Daily Beast she felt "vindicated" after being one of the first to publicly speak out against Kelly. Edwards accused Kelly of assaulting her niece in a video recording that led to a child pornography charges that Kelly was eventually acquitted of in 2008.

One of the witnesses in the case who testified against him, identified only as Sonja told the outlet she was "happy with the verdict and thankful the jury listened to us."

Kelly's ex-wife, Drea Kelly, shared her thoughts about the singer's conviction on Tuesday (September 28) on ITV's Good Morning Britain stating that: "I feel my heart is in two places," she said.

"My heart definitely goes out to the survivors and the courage that it takes to come forward and tell the story, but my heart breaks as a mother because this is now the legacy that my children will have to deal with and their children's children," she said.

"At the end of the day, you cannot walk away from your blood line," she continued. "I have the ability to separate and distance myself from it, but his blood runs through my children's veins and it's part of their DNA and they couldn't escape it if they wanted to. So it's very difficult for me to sit in that position."

Kelly could face up to 100 years in prison after his conviction. He's scheduled to be sentenced May 2022.

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RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline is 1-800-656-4673.

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