LOS ANGELES (CN) — A jury on Thursday slapped rapper Soulja Boy with a $4.25 million verdict on civil claims of sexual assault brought by a woman he used to live with.
Soulja Boy, whose real name is DeAndre Way, smiled calmly as the verdict was being read, giving little in the way of reaction to being found liable for a range of civil claims including sexual battery, assault and gender violence.
The verdict included just over $4 million in compensatory damages and $250,000 in punitive damages. The plaintiff had asked for another $4 million in punitives.
The plaintiff, who has asked to remain nameless throughout the trial, expressed a level of muted satisfaction about the verdict.
"It’s gonna help,” she said. "Now I can get medical attention and seek therapy. But none of that is going to give me my life back.
"I got some justice. I’m happy that this is all over now.”
Her attorney, Neama Rahmani agreed. "Today is just the beginning of justice for Soulja Boy's victims,” said Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers. Rahmani said his client felt vindicated by the verdict, "because he called her a liar. He said she was never an employee — nothing more than a disgruntled, jealous, lying ex. And I think the jury rejected that argument.”
According to Rahmani, Way made an offer to settle the case right before the trial began for $100,000.
Way said he was “deeply disappointed" with the verdict, which he said was "not based on facts or substantial evidence.”
"I want to make it clear that I'm innocent,” said Way, reading from a statement on his smartphone outside the courthouse. "I am committed to filing an appeal and fighting for the truth to be revealed."
He also objected to the plaintiff being allowed to remain anonymous throughout the trial.
“Keeping these individuals anonymous while I'm forced to face public scrutiny creates an unequal playing field,” he said. "I believe this entire process has been tainted by a system that is not designed to protect the rights of the accused.”
The plaintiff said that she worked as Soulja Boy's assistant for nearly two years, during which time he regularly raped and beat her, at times keeping her as a prisoner. At one point, she said, the two fell in love and were in something like a consensual relationship. But it was a tumultuous one that frequently veered into physical, sexual and emotional abuse, she testified.
The 34-year-old rapper, best known for his 2007 viral hit single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)," denied raping or beating the plaintiff, calling some of the accusations “disgusting.” He also said that he never even even formally employed the plaintiff, insisting that she stayed at his house frequently and rolled blunts, but nothing more.
"She was rolling blunts,” Way’s attorney, Rickey Ivie of Ivie McNeill Wyatt Purcell & Diggs told the jury during his closing statement. "She got room and board. That’s the industry standard."
When called to testify by the plaintiff as a hostile witness, Way admitted he had called her his assistant at least once, at a Louis Vuitton store.
The jury also found the rapper liable on the claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress, sexual harassment and nonpayment of wages. Jurors cleared him on claims of false imprisonment and constructive discharge.
The plaintiff testified for the better part of three days, and gave a harrowing account of her time spent with Way.
"I wanted to die," the woman testified, sobbing. "I just wanted to go home."
When she first met Way, she said, she weighed about 150 pounds. By the time she finally broke free from him, she said, she was down to about 86.
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