SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) – A ju umpire on Thursday discovered rapper Souljaboy was sexually assaulted, physically and emotionally abused a former assistant, and was responsible for awarding more than $4 million in damages to a woman.
The decision from the Los Angeles County ju judge came after a three-week trial in Santa Monica, California.
The 34-year-old Soulja boy, a legal name Deandre Cortez Way, was determined to be responsible for attacks, sexual artillery and intentional emotional distress. The ju judge did not believe he would be liable for false imprisonment or other allegations. They determined that women should earn an additional $250,000 in compensatory and punitive damages in approximately $4 million.
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“Today's verdict is just the beginning of justice for the victims of the young soulja and other victims of the music industry,” plaintiffs' lawyer Neema Ramani said in a statement.
In his own statement, Reed defense attorney Ricky Ivy said: “The evidence claims it doesn't support the verdict. It's unfortunate that embracing and misunderstanding about culture will affect the trial.
The woman was not identified by name in a lawsuit filed in 2021, and the Associated Press usually doesn't name people who say they've been sexually abused.
She says she started working for Soulja Boy in 2018, and he agreed to pay $500 a week to clean his house, cook for him, and do other personal jobs. But she says she never got paid.
The two have started a romantic relationship, and her lawsuit alleges that he starts abuse her, rape her, kick her, punch her, and blackmail her with violence and death.
She believes she is in love with him, and he manipulated her until 2020 despite repeated acts of violence, the lawsuit says.
When she returned to retrieve her things a few months after leaving him, she was beaten and raped again, the lawsuit says.
The Chicago hip-hop artist is best known for his 2007 single, “Crank That (Soulja Boy).”
