Santa Monica, California – A jury found Thursday that rapper Soulja Boy was responsible for the physical assault and the physically and emotional abuse of a former assistant, granted to women more than $ 4 million in damages.
The decision of the Juries of the County of Los Angeles intervened after a three -week trial in Santa Monica, California.
The 34 -year -old Soulja boy, whose legal name is Deandre Cortez Way, was deemed responsible for assaults, sexual drums and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The jurors did not find him responsible for false imprisonment and other allegations. They found that the woman should obtain around $ 4 million in compensatory damages and additional $ 250,000 in punitive damages.
“Today’s verdict is only the start of justice for the victims of Soulja Boy and other victims of the music industry,” said lawyer Neama Rahmani in a statement.
Defense principal lawyer Rickey IVie said in his own statement: “We argue that evidence does not support the verdict. It is regrettable that the erroneous sponsorships and perceptions of a culture have been authorized to influence the trial. Mr. Way intends to continue his remedies after the trial and fight for a fair result in this case. ”
The woman was not identified by her name in the trial she filed in 2021.
She said that she had started working for Soulja Boy in 2018, and he agreed to pay her $ 500 a week to clean her house, cook for him and do other personal tasks. But she says she has never been paid.
The two started a romantic relationship, and shortly after, he began to mistreat her, violate her, kick her, hit her and threaten her with violence and death, according to her trial.
She believed that she was in love with him, and he manipulated him to stay until 2020 despite repeated acts of violence, according to the trial.
She was beaten and raped again when she returned to recover her things from months after leaving her, said the trial.
The Chicago hip-hop artist is best known for his 2007 single “Crank That (Soulja Boy)”, who went to Billboard Hot 100 n ° 1 and brought him a grammy nomination for the best rap song.
