British YouTuber and rapper Yung Filly has been found not guilty of three counts of rape, but has been convicted of two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm. The verdicts were delivered by a jury in Perth, Australia, at the end of an eight-day trial that centred on allegations made by a female fan.
The performer, whose real name is Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos, was also acquitted of a separate strangulation charge. The 30-year-old, who is based in London, had faced a total of six charges arising from the same incident. The most serious were the three rape counts, while the remaining charges comprised two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm and one count of strangulation.
The guilty verdicts relate only to the two assault counts. Those offences were described in reports as involving biting, with the woman having suffered a bite to her neck. The jury therefore accepted the case against the entertainer on the violence allegations, while clearing him on all sexual offences and on the strangulation charge.
In criminal law, assault occasioning bodily harm is a charge used when an assault causes physical injury. It is less serious than charges such as rape, but it is still treated as a violent offence. The offence applies to injuries that are more than transient or trifling. The conviction means Yung Filly now leaves the trial with a criminal record for violence, even though the most serious allegations against him were rejected by the jury.
Yung Filly is known as both a YouTuber and a rapper. His public career began online, where he built a following as a content creator before releasing music. He is also described in reporting as a London-based entertainer, and the case has been followed closely by his fans and by observers of the British online entertainment scene.
The eight-day trial has ended with a mixed outcome. The acquittals cover the three rape counts and the strangulation charge, meaning the entertainer will not be convicted of any sexual offence. The convictions on the two assault counts, however, mean the case has not ended entirely in his favour. The verdicts draw a clear legal line between the sexual allegations, which were not proven, and the physical violence allegations, which were. The outcome leaves his legal position clear: he has been acquitted of rape and strangulation, but convicted of causing bodily harm to a woman who was a fan of his work.
