<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A jury has found that rapper Soulja Boy was liable for sexually assaulting and physically and emotionally abusing a former assistant, awarding the woman more than $US4 million ($6.41 million) in damages.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The decision from the Los Angeles County jurors came after a three-week trial in Santa Monica, California.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The 34-year-old Soulja Boy, whose legal name is DeAndre Cortez Way, was found liable for assault, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/white-house-must-facilitate-return-of-mistakenly-deported-man/66fe2347-46a6-4f00-b2c0-a516eab61a83" target="_blank"><strong><span>US Supreme Court orders White House to 'facilitate' return of mistakenly deported man</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Jurors did not find him liable for false imprisonment and other allegations.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They found the woman should get about $US4 million in compensatory damages and another $US250,000 (around $400,000) in punitive damages.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“Today’s verdict is just the beginning of justice for Soulja Boy’s victims, and other victims in the music industry,” the plaintiff's attorney, Neama Rahmani, said in a statement.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/soulja-boy-liable-abuse-sexual-assault-assistant-usd-4-million-damages/ffc34e93-1269-4bdc-b75e-ed4e5b3ae2e8" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Lead defence attorney Rickey Ivie said in his own statement: “We maintain that the evidence does not support the verdict.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It is unfortunate that aspersions and misperceptions of a culture were allowed to influence the trial.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Way fully intends to pursue his post-trial remedies and to fight for a just result in this case.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The woman was not identified by name in the lawsuit she filed in 2021, and The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-egg-prices-increase-to-record-high-dashing-hopes-of-cheap-eggs-by-easter/f261b961-d5be-4318-975c-86db7e692422" target="_blank"><strong><span>US egg prices increase to record high, dashing hopes of cheap eggs by Easter</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She said she began working for Soulja Boy in 2018, and he agreed to pay her $500 a week for cleaning his house, cooking for him and doing other personal tasks.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But she says she was never paid.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The two began a romantic relationship, and soon after he began abusing her, raping her, kicking her, punching her and threatening her with violence and death, her lawsuit alleges.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She believed she was in love with him, and he manipulated her into staying until 2020 despite repeated acts of violence, the lawsuit says.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She was beaten and raped again when she returned to retrieve her things months after leaving him, the lawsuit says.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Chicago hip-hop artist is best known for his 2007 single </span><em><span>Crank That (Soulja Boy)</span></em><span>, which went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and brought him a Grammy nomination for best rap song.</span></div></div>