Bay Area rapper Sky Nathan Branklyn, known professionally as “Sky Balla,” has been charged with two counts of sexual assault at the Aria Resort in Las Vegas, causing substantial bodily harm. According to court records, two other women testified that their encounters with the rapper unexpectedly turned violent when he allegedly sexually assaulted them.
Woman Says She Was Sexually Assaulted in a Las Vegas Hotel by the rapper
The 45-year-old was arrested in Las Vegas in 2021 after a woman reported a violent assault that prosecutors say began following an encounter at the High Limit Lounge at the Aria resort. According to the arrest report, the woman involved in the Aria case told police she met a man who identified himself only as “Sky” at a bar inside the casino. She said they shared several shots of alcohol, after which she lost consciousness.
She told investigators that when she attempted to resist and told him to stop, he struck her in the face, causing her to lose consciousness again. The woman said she later regained consciousness to find the man attempting to engage in further sexual acts. She also said that when she tried to resist and told him to stop, he struck her in the face until she blacked out again.
Eventually, she was able to crawl to the bathroom, where she remained in the dark for about two hours before telling the man she needed to leave. Police said he then ordered her an Uber.
During the investigation, police discovered a significant amount of blood in the hotel room. Housekeeping staff who came to clean the room the following day alerted security about a potential biohazard. One cleaner even confessed to feeling afraid to enter the room.
According to the report, housekeeping was told that hotel security had inspected the room and concluded the stains were from spilled wine, so the room was cleaned. However, several housekeeping employees interviewed by police insisted the stains were blood, not wine. Detectives also found out that bloody towels had been discarded.
Sky Balla’s Case Deepens as Two Other Victims Speak Out
It would seem that the rapper’s criminal history can be traced back to at least 2008, when he allegedly assaulted two other women. One of them said that Sky Balla offered her a ride to her hotel in California. However, he instead drove to an apartment complex. She also testified that she was intoxicated, but not “blacked out” drunk. The rapper then allegedly assaulted her, bit her, smashed her head into the ground, and dragged her by her hair. The woman eventually managed to call for help. Later, when Sky Balla was charged, he took a plea deal so that the woman was unable to testify, she said.
Another woman came up to say that she was sexually assaulted by the rapper in 2008 when she was just 17 years old. According to her, he contacted her and she invited him over while her parents were at work, he threw money on her bed, and began sexually assaulting her.
She said he was persistently putting his arms out like he was going to try to pin her down. She eventually grabbed her phone and ran to her parents’ room to call 911. These accounts will likely come up in Sky Balla’s case, as a jury trial is scheduled for February 9.