Sparkle knew R. Kelly as a mentor and friend. She introduced her 12-year-old niece, an aspiring rapper, to him 20 years ago. And then a sex tape surfaced—a tape that Sparkle said showed Kelly was abusing her niece. When she raised the alarm, no one listened. Instead, Dave Chappelle made a parody of it, and we all laughed it off. For decades, Sparkle has been paying the price for speaking out. She spoke to us about her role in bringing Kelly to justice and her reaction to the verdict.

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