Lead
British musician and YouTube personality Yung Filly, legally known as Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos, has been acquitted of three sexual penetration charges but found guilty of two assault offences over an encounter with a 20-year-old fan in a Perth hotel in September 2024. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on three other sexual penetration counts, leaving the possibility of a retrial.
Coverage Comparison
Reporting on the trial's outcome differs between two outlets. The Guardian — World reports that Barrientos was acquitted on Friday of three of six counts of sexually penetrating the woman without consent. Not-guilty verdicts were also returned for one charge of impeding the woman's breathing by applying pressure to her neck and one count of assault occasioning bodily harm. The same outlet reports the jury found Barrientos guilty of two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm, related to biting the woman's neck, cheek and breast during the encounter.
ABC Australia's coverage, in contrast, focuses on the ongoing trial itself, describing Barrientos as on trial for rape and assault and noting that he has denied all 10 charges against him. The outlet's reports do not include the verdicts, instead detailing the allegations and the prosecution's case, which includes testimony from the alleged victim and other witnesses. The defence has questioned the adequacy of the police investigation.
Key Claims
- The alleged victim is a 20-year-old fan, and the incident occurred in a Perth hotel in September 2024, as reported by both ABC Australia and The Guardian — World.
- Yung Filly has denied all 10 charges against him, a claim carried by ABC Australia.
- The jury found Yung Filly guilty of two assault offences and acquitted him of three sexual penetration charges, as reported by The Guardian — World.
- The jury was hung on three sexual penetration counts, with the case due to return to court at a later date when a decision on whether there will be a retrial could be made, according to The Guardian — World.
Perspectives
The prosecution argued that Barrientos, who had met the woman in a nightclub VIP area after a performance, became aggressive during intercourse after the woman spotted him pointing his phone in her direction and asked if he was recording her. The alleged assault started with the rapper repeatedly biting the woman's face and neck, according to The Guardian — World.
The defence has questioned the adequacy of the police investigation, as reported by ABC Australia, and Barrientos had pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Barrientos, whose bail was continued until 21 August, was on his first tour of Australia when he met the woman. The tour opened in Perth before moving to Queensland, where he was arrested and extradited to Western Australia, as detailed by The Guardian — World.