The lawyer of a girl accusing Soulja Boy of rape portrayed him as a brutal boss who repeatedly beat and sexually assaulted the Jane Doe after which dressed up in “faux glasses” and a swimsuit in court docket to mislead jurors in regards to the alleged abuse. Within the rapper’s protection, his lawyer painted the Grammy-nominated artist because the sufferer of a vengeful ex-girlfriend peddling a “false story” for cash.
Throughout closing arguments in a California courtroom Monday, Doe typically cried and wiped tears as her lawyer mentioned she deserves $73,620,000 in previous and current damages for alleged horrors suffered throughout a residing and dealing relationship with the “Crank That” rapper in 2019 and 2020.
The lady claimed the artist, whose actual identify is DeAndre Cortez Manner, employed her as his salaried private assistant in January 2019 after they met via a pal. She alleged he raped her for the primary time throughout a police raid of his Malibu hills mansion in February 2019 after which assaulted and sexually battered her regularly for greater than a yr. She admitted her skilled function crossed over right into a extremely “poisonous” romantic relationship that was consensual at instances, however she alleged Manner “abused his place of authority” and emotionally manipulated her, her lawyer argued Monday.
“He raped her, he punched her, he kicked her, he reduce her. He picked up after which slammed her, choked her, left bruises from squeezing her arm. He grabbed her head by a mirror and mentioned, ‘Nobody will love you,’” legal professional Ronald Zambrano informed jurors as his shopper broke down crying. “He pointed a Draco gun at her. He locked her in a room, threatened her household, threatened her, denied her meals.”
The lawyer confirmed the jurors display screen grabs from textual content messages between the lady and Manner. In one of the vital disturbing exchanges from April 20, 2020, Manner texted “I hope u die sluggish.” The Jane Doe responded with, “You assume you possibly can preserve hitting on me, you might be loopy,” to which Manner responded, “Fuck u bitch.” In different messages, Manner informed the lady, “I hope you catch corona, bitch,” and, “I ought to have killed your ass,” Zambrano informed the jury. The lawyer faulted Manner for avoiding all “accountability” for the hurt he purportedly inflicted. He mentioned his shopper, by comparability, was trustworthy about smoking weed, calling different ladies “bitch,” posing for photos with weapons, and having consensual intercourse with Manner at instances.
“These are issues that aren’t flattering. How embarrassing for her, however she nonetheless admitted it,” he mentioned. “He’s owned as much as nothing. Not one textual content message, not one {photograph}. He hasn’t owned as much as one factor that doesn’t flatter him.” The lawyer known as Manner a performer who was primarily wearing nerd cosplay all through the trial. He reminded jurors that below cross-examination, Manner admitted the eyeglasses he was carrying had clear, prescription-less lenses.
“It was an act, a four-week act with glasses and a swimsuit,” Zambrano argued. “The act you’re being requested to purchase, sadly, my shopper did purchase it. It’s why she went again. … I ask that you just don’t fall for the person sitting over there with faux glasses on attempting to persuade you he’s incapable of the bruises you’ve seen, the cuts you’ve seen, the textual content messages he despatched.”
When it was his flip to talk, Manner’s lead lawyer, Rickie Ivie, informed jurors that the lady’s story about her alleged abuse “developed over time.” He mentioned that when she first reported her allegations to police in December 2020, she didn’t inform the deputy that Manner allegedly knocked her unconscious on one event and smacked her within the mouth and compelled oral copulation. Ivie claimed {that a} bodyguard who accompanied the lady to a closing assembly with Manner in late 2020 testified that the lady “was the aggressor” in a closing bodily confrontation that day. “Why would he lie?” Ivie requested, referring to the bodyguard. “He was referred by a pal and employed by her lawyer. What’s his motive to lie? He doesn’t have one.”
Ivie informed jurors that the lady was by no means a salaried worker, solely an unbiased contractor who agreed to a barter transaction by which she would “roll blunts” for Manner in change for her room and board. He known as the association an “trade normal.”
Ivie additional argued that the Jane Doe may have escaped her alleged false imprisonment at Manner’s home when she traveled to Las Vegas or Kentucky to be with him. “I believe you could find somebody to complain to at an airport. They’re filled with police provides, TSA officers. There’s assist throughout,” he argued.
The lawyer claimed the lady provided to resolve her claims in opposition to Manner in December 2020 by demanding $50,000 and a Dodge Charger. He known as the hassle “extortion.”
“Plaintiff is motivated by jealousy, revenge and monetary acquire,” he informed the jury. “She needed to be paid. That’s what this case is all about. It’s not in regards to the reality, it’s simply not.”
In a single argument that clearly enraged Zambrano, Ivie claimed that the sequence of images of the lady’s alleged accidents — proven repeatedly in the course of the trial — weren’t conclusive. He questioned when precisely they have been taken and the way they need to be perceived. “The images don’t finish the story, they solely elevate extra questions,” Ivie argued.
In his closing rebuttal argument, Zambrano mentioned Ivie’s argument left him “offended.” He mentioned Manner tried to discredit one of many images displaying the lady’s bruised neck however later needed to admit it was snapped in his house as a result of one in all his items of art work was seen within the background.
“Apparently, she didn’t get beat up sufficient,” Zambrano scoffed, referring to Ivie’s dismissal of the images. “The reduce wasn’t deep sufficient. The bruise wasn’t purple sufficient. Nicely, subsequent time, we’ll take one other two weeks so we will actually get into that.”
The decide overseeing the trial began studying jury directions late Monday however ran out of time. He ordered the panel again to start their deliberations Tuesday morning.
In graphic and harrowing testimony delivered final month, the lady detailed her alleged abuse, beginning with the purported lavatory assault in the course of the police raid in 2019. She claimed Manner chucked a number of weapons out a window right into a steep canyon and was attempting to get rid of narcotics in a toilet when he allegedly spun her round, pulled her pants down and “began having intercourse” along with her. She didn’t instantly report the alleged assault to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Deputies who raided the house as a result of she was “terrified” of Manner and attainable retaliation, she testified.
“I feared for my life,” Doe informed the jury on the fourth day of the civil trial. She claimed Manner informed her he knew the place her mom lived and had threatened to “ship shooters” to the home. “I used to be frightened of what he would do to my household. I didn’t need him to harm anyone due to me,” she testified.
The lady mentioned she was so determined for meals whereas residing with Manner in early 2019, she gathered unfastened change from the house and gave it to the property’s gardeners so they might purchase her on the spot noodles. She claimed she dropped from 140 kilos right down to 86 kilos earlier than Manner was despatched to jail in April 2019 for a probation violation linked to the raid. “I didn’t even really feel human anymore. I felt like an animal,” she mentioned.
When it was his flip to testify, Manner admitted there was a sexual encounter with the lady when police confirmed up on the door of his $25,000-a-month rental house to serve the search warrant — however he claimed she consented. “I requested her if she needed to have intercourse, and he or she was engaged in it,” he mentioned. “She didn’t push me or say cease, nothing like that.”
Manner, 34, denied he ever abused the lady in any method, claiming they “bonded” throughout their time collectively and at all times acted voluntarily. He mentioned the lady would deal with errands for him as a result of he provided her a free place to reside and so they struck up a private relationship, not as a result of she was a paid worker.
“Did you ever hit the plaintiff within the mouth, bust her lip, and pressure her to present you oral intercourse?” his lawyer Ivie requested throughout Manner’s testimony. “After all not, and that’s a disgusting allegation,” Manner responded. “It sounds loopy to me. I didn’t do this.”
Doe, who filed her lawsuit in January 2021, is suing Manner with claims he subjected her to sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, emotional misery, unpaid additional time, and a hostile work atmosphere. She claims Manner punched her within the head on a minimum of 10 separate events. She alleges one incident was so brutal that she misplaced consciousness and awoke in a locked room with no meals or water.
Manner has additionally been accused of bodily and sexual assault by former girlfriends Kayla Myers and mannequin Nia Riley, the daughter of musician Teddy Riley. Manner appeared on the fact exhibits Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood and Marriage Bootcamp with Riley.
In 2021, Riley sat down with YouTube vlogger TashaK and mentioned Manner threatened her with a gun and kicked her within the abdomen whereas she was pregnant, inflicting her to undergo a miscarriage. A lawsuit filed by a Jane Doe in Could 2021 mirrors the allegations made publicly by Riley. That case initially resulted in a default judgment, however Manner is difficult the default, blaming his prior lawyer for failing to share his correct contact data.
In a separate lawsuit, Myers claimed she had an on-again, off-again romantic relationship with Manner that ended when the rapper allegedly held a gun to her head, threatened her life, and assaulted her at his house on Feb. 1, 2019. A civil court docket jury discovered Manner responsible for the assault and kidnapping of Myers at a trial.
