Soulja Boy ordered to pay $ 4 million after losing a case of sexual assault

American rapper Soulja Boy was ordered to pay $ 4.25 million (3.2 million pounds sterling) to a woman who accused her of sexual drums and abuse.

The anonymous woman continued the star, whose real name is Deandre Cortez Way, in 2021, saying that he had regularly raped her and beat her and sometimes kept her as a prisoner after being hired as assistant.

Way had denied mistreating it and said their relationship was consensual – but a jury in a civil lawsuit judged him responsible for the sexual battery, assault and gender violence.

The 34 -year -old smiled calmly while the verdict was read Thursday, According to the courthouse News Service.

Speaking outside the court, he maintained his innocence and said that he was “determined to appeal and fight so that the truth was revealed”.

During the trial, the way denied beating or raping it, calling “disgusting” accusations.

But after two days of deliberations, the jury granted its accuser $ 4 million ($ 3 million) to compensatory damages and an additional $ 250,000 (£ 200,000) in punitive damages.

“I feel like I have justice,” She told Rolling Stone After the verdict.

“Obviously, that will not make everything I lost. I lost much more than what I won. I hope he doesn’t do that to more women.”

Soulja Boy is known for a festive rap style that caused blows like Crank who (an American number one single), kiss me through the phone and the pretty Swag boy.

Its commercial peak came in 2010, when Forbes magazine said it had won $ 7 million (5.3 million pounds sterling), since it diversified in record production and video game development.

According to court documents, the woman was hired as a assistant in 2018 and started a romantic relationship shortly after.

The abuses followed quickly, she said. The trial accused her of having struck and raped her several times.

During her testimony, she said that she had lost almost half of her body weight during their time together, falling to almost 6 stones (39 kg), before “I managed to move away from him”.

“I didn’t even feel human anymore,” she told court. “I felt like an animal.”

She said she had stayed in the relationship because it was threatening to hurt her, and told her that he would publish a sexually explicit video on the Internet if she left.

The text messages indicated in court painted an image complicated by their relationship.

Way would ask him to carry out typical tasks of an assistant, including taking travel arrangements or the configuration of computer equipment.

But at other times, he sent her messages like “I hope you die slowly”, “I hope you catch Corona” and “I should have killed your ass,” heard the jury.

In other messages highlighted during the trial, the woman sent a text: “You body slammed me on my head and smothered me”, and “I should have just let you hit me.”

His lawyer Ronald Zambrano argued that the rapper had never responded with denial.

However, he would apologize, sending messages such as: “Baby come back, let’s talk seriously” and “are you ok? I’m sorry I love you please call.”

During the trial, Way denied that his accuser was an employee. Instead, he said, he had offered her a place to stay in exchange for which she would launch marijuana for him.

During the closing arguments, Way Rickey IVie’s lawyer argued that the woman had invented her story and was “motivated by jealousy, revenge and financial gain”.

Although Way was tried responsible for sexual assault, he was authorized to claim false imprisonment and constructive dismissal sentences.

This is not the first time that the rapper has faced such allegations.

In 2023, he was ordered to pay the ex-girlfriend Kayla Myers 471,900 $ (£ 360,000) resulting from an assault and kidnapping trial that she brought in 2020.