Source : Perth Now news
Yung Filly could face a new trial after a jury was unable to agree on verdicts on some charges in his high-profile rape case.
Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos, 30, has been in Western Australia ever since he was charged over the alleged rape, assault and choking of a 20-year-old fan after a Perth show during his 2024 Australian tour.
On Friday, The YouTube star was acquitted of three counts of rape and one count each of assault and choking, but was found guilty of two counts of assault over the alleged attack following an eight day trial the WA District Court.
However, jurors could not reach verdicts on three further rape charges, with state prosecutors now to decide whether to pursue a retrial.
In the meantime, Mr Barrientos is required to stay in the state while he awaits sentencing over the assaults.
The British rapper was extradited from Brisbane shortly before he was due to leave the country in October 2024, and has remained in WA on bail since he was charged.
During the trial, the court was told how a 20-year-old fan, who cannot be identified, was desperate to meet at her favourite celebrity crush at Bar1 Nightclub in Perth’s northern suburbs.
She pestered the nightclub’s owner Malcolm Pages for entry into the VIP area so she could meet her idol, who noticed the young woman and talked to her for about 10 minutes throughout the evening before she left with him and his entourage.
She made several videos throughout the night were she proclaimed she wanted to marry the star and be rich and famous, later telling the court she dreamt about having a Victoria and David Beckham future with him.
The court heard the woman thought she was going to an after-party with the rapper and his friends, but realised she would have sex with him when they arrived at the InterContinental Hotel in Perth and everyone walked off in different directions.
What began as consensual sex allegedly escalated into violence and a “non-consensual nightmare” when the rapper allegedly bit, hit and strangled the woman leaving her with an open wound on her breast and bruising and swelling to her face and neck, a court was told.
The woman alleged Filly told her to say, “Yung Filly’s dirty whore” and “Fat pig” during the encounter, then hit her when she refused.
She alleged she told the rapper to stop and said no, but the star bit and hit her harder then forced her to perform oral sex, before he ejaculated on her.
The jury found the rapper guilty of biting the woman and causing an open wound to her breast, but not guilty of hitting and anally raping her.
The jury could not agree on whether he engaged in non-consensual sex or forced her to perform oral sex.
However, Yung Filly told the court he enjoyed the sexual activity and the woman gave no indication of displeasure or discomfort.
He told the court he gave the woman “love bites” and some were harder than others.
“She was enjoying it too,” he said.
“She was kissing, she made sexual noises, grunting and moaning in a good way.
“She didn’t tell me to stop. She didn’t stay ow. She didn’t push me away.”
Photos of the woman’s injuries were shown in court revealing she had several bite marks on her face and neck, swelling and bruising.
His lawyer David Edwardson argued the young woman was an enthusiastic and willing participant when the sex started.
“The question is whether the violence or sexual acts occurred as (she) said they did, it is common ground they had sex in the hotel room,” he said
“This is not a court of morals, you are not here to say whether you agree or disagree about how this woman was treated by Mr Barrientos.”
Mr Edwardson argued that when people were “in the moment” they did not ask whether sexual activity was consensual frame by frame.
“This notion of a power imbalance and he didn’t ask questions about sexual boundaries, or he somehow had a responsibility to ask her before each sexual act in the bedroom is nonsense,” he said.
“It applies both ways, there was an age difference of nine years, but she was an adult.
“One thing is perfectly clear, she was an enthusiastic and willing participant when the sex started.”
Mr Edwardson also argued medical evidence shown in court was unable to establish that Mr Barrientos raped, assaulted or strangled the woman.Mr Barrientos is due in court later this month for a sentence mention on two assault charges.
The department of the Director of Public Prosecutions has been contacted for comment.
