Content warning: This article details alleged violence as well as physical and sexual abuse.
The verdict is in for Soulja Boy's sexual assault civil trial.
On April 10, the "Crank That" rapper (real name DeAndre Cortez Way) was found liable of assault, sexual battery, gender violence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and failure to pay wages in a California lawsuit filed by an unnamed Jane Doe, according to a press release from her attorney obtained by USA Today.
A jury awarded Way's accuser $4 million in compensatory damages, with punitive damages being considered at a later time, per Doe's legal team.
"We're happy our client was vindicated and the jury believed her claims of physical and sexual assault," Ron Zambrano, a lawyer for the plaintiff, told USA Today in a statement. "We're looking forward to moving on to the punitive damages phase of the case."
E! News has reached out to Way's rep for comment but has not heard back. In the past, the 34-year-old's spokesperson denied the allegations, telling TMZ, "Soulja would never put his hands on a female. He wouldn't beat a woman or put his hands on a woman."
Doe first brought forth the lawsuit against Way in 2021, accusing him of physical and sexual violence when she worked as his personal assistant from 2018 to 2020, according to NBC News. In her filing, obtained by the outlet, Doe said they also had a consensual relationship during that time, though Way would allegedly abuse her and then "expressed remorse" afterward.
"Over the course of this abusive relationship," the suit read, "Defendant Way punched Plaintiff directly in the head on at least ten separate occasions."
Doe also alleged in the documents that she was sexually assaulted by Way "on numerous occasions, and sometimes twice in the same day."
During the monthlong trial, Way and his legal team argued that Doe was not a salaried employee, but that the "Turn My Swag On" artist agreed to have her run errands in exchange for room and board, according to Rolling Stone. He also denied Doe's abuse accusation, calling it a "disgusting allegation" when he took the stand.
"I asked her if she wanted to have sex, and she was engaged in it," Way testified, per the publication. "She didn't push me or say stop, nothing like that.”
(E! and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)