Soulja Boy Begins Trial on Sexual Assault Allegations
The 'Crank That' artist, whose legal name is Deandre Cortez Way, denies the allegations. In opening statements, his lawyer said the evidence will show Way never hired the woman, who sued anonymously as a Jane Doe. He said the two had a consensual romantic relationship that overlapped with the three months Way spent in jail for a probation violation linked to his 2014 conviction for possessing a loaded revolver in a car.
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In the lawsuit at the center of the trial, Doe claims that just weeks after she started living with Way at his Malibu mansion, purportedly earning $500 a week, he sexually assaulted her for the first time in February 2019. Her lawyer told jurors Thursday that Way forced himself on Doe after they ran into a bathroom to hide during a raid of the home by law enforcement.
'She was told she had to get rid of guns because Mr. Way was concerned they were after the guns that would have violated his probation,' Doe's lawyer, Ron Zambrano, said in his opening. 'This was the first time he sexually assaulted her, in the bathroom, because he thought he was going to prison and was never going to be with a woman for a little while.'
Zambrano said his client was dragged into a vicious cycle of 'violence and abuse' that was complicated by what he described as a highly toxic romantic relationship that also developed between Way and Doe. He said Way manipulated Doe with apologies and proclamations of love, and that his client also felt' isolated' and dependent on Way until someone in Way's inner circle passed along a number for a lawyer that helped her finally 'build up the courage' to leave.
Doe, who filed her lawsuit in January 2021, is suing Way with claims he subjected her to sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, emotional distress, unpaid overtime, and a hostile work environment. She claims Way punched her in the head on at least ten separate occasions. She claims one incident was so brutal that she lost consciousness and woke up in a locked room with no food or water.
Way, 34, has also been accused of physical and sexual assault by former girlfriends Kayla Myers and model Nia Riley, the daughter of musician Teddy Riley. Way appeared on the reality shows 'Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood' and 'Marriage Boot Camp' with Riley.
In 2021, Riley sat down with YouTube vlogger TashaK and said Way threatened her with a gun and kicked her in the stomach while she was pregnant, causing her to suffer a miscarriage. A lawsuit filed by a Jane Doe in May 2021 mirrors the allegations made publicly by Riley. That case initially resulted in a default judgment, but the order was later set aside, meaning the lawsuit is back on course to reach an eventual trial.
In a separate lawsuit, Myers claimed she had an on-again, off-again romantic relationship with Way that ended when the rapper allegedly held a gun to her head, threatened her life, and assaulted her at his home on Feb. 1, 2019. A civil court jury found Way liable for the assault and kidnapping of Myers at a trial in 2023.
On Thursday, Way's lawyer, Rickey Ivie, said his client never agreed to hire Jane Doe as an assistant. He said they lived together as boyfriend and girlfriend, sharing the household responsibilities until they broke up.
'The plaintiff's claim is not supported by reliable evidence,' Ivie said. 'The claims are driven by the ulterior motives of jealousy, revenge, and financial gain.'
He questioned Doe's credibility, claiming she said during a deposition that she was prevented from leaving Way's home because on one occasion when she tried to run away, 'she was chased by a mountain lion.'
He said the Doe also told investigators that photos of her alleged injuries were linked to an alleged assault by Way that would have occurred after a date on which she sent the same photos to Way's manager.
The trial is set to resume Monday in Santa Monica.
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