Santa Monica, California – A jury discovered on Thursday that rapper Soulja Boy was responsible for sexually assaulting and physically and emotionally abuse a former assistant, giving women more than $ 4 million in damages.
The decision of Los Angeles County jurors occurred after a three -week trial in Santa Monica, California.
The 34 -year -old Soulja child, whose legal name is Deandre Cortez Way, was found responsible for aggression, sexual assault and inflicting intentional emotional anguish. The jury members did not find him responsible for the false imprisonment and other accusations. They discovered that women should receive around $ 4 million in compensatory damages and another $ 250,000 in punitive damage.
“Today’s verdict is only the beginning of justice for the victims of Soulja Boy and other victims in the music industry,” said the lawyer of the plaintiff Neama Rahmani in a statement.
The main defense lawyer, Rickey Ivie, said in his own statement: “We maintain that the evidence does not support the verdict. It is unfortunate that the sprinkles and erroneous perceptions of a culture could influence the trial. Mr. Way intends to pursue his remedies after the trial and fight for a single result in this case.”
The woman was not identified by her name in the demand she filed in 2021.
She said she started working for Soulja Boy in 2018, and he agreed to pay him $ 500 per week for cleaning his home, cooking for him and doing other personal tasks. But she says they never paid her.
The two began a romantic relationship, and shortly after he began to abuse her, rape her, kick her, hit her and threaten her with violence and death, she alleges her demand.
She believed she was in love with him, and he manipulated her to stay until 2020 despite the repeated acts of violence, says the demand.
She was beaten and raped again when she returned to recover her things months after leaving it, says the demand.
Chicago’s hip-hop artist is better known for his 2007 “Crank That (Soulja Boy)”, which went to No. 1 in Billboard Hot 100 and brought a Grammy nomination to the best rap song.
