UK rapper Yung Filly found not guilty of raping woman after Australian show

UK rapper Yung Filly has been acquitted of raping a woman following a 2024 performance in Australia, though he was found guilty of assault.

A jury in Western Australia delivered the not guilty verdict on Friday for three counts of sexual penetration without consent. However, the rapper, whose real name is Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos, was convicted on two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm.

The YouTuber had been accused of sexually assaulting the woman, then 20, in his hotel room after his show in Hillarys, a coastal suburb of Perth. The jury was unable to reach a decision on three other rape charges. Barrientos was also cleared of one count of assault occasioning bodily harm and one count of strangulation.

Local media reported that the 30-year-old social media personality, who had pleaded not guilty to all charges, became emotional when the verdict was read. He will remain on bail until August 21, when his sentencing date will be determined. Prosecutors will also decide whether to pursue the three unresolved rape charges.

Barrientos has been on bail since his initial charges and was permitted to return to the UK for four months in September before coming back to Western Australia for his trial.

During the trial, Barrientos testified that he "fancied" the woman when they met at the concert venue. Born in Colombia and raised in the UK, he was in the VIP area while she leaned over the barrier from the general admission section. He denied any inappropriate touching, stating, "I recall putting my hand on her waist," but denied touching her breasts or putting his hands down her pants. He described the "vibes were good" between them upon arriving at his hotel. His security guard took the woman's phone, which Barrientos described as "standard practice" for privacy.

The court heard that the pair engaged in consensual sex in his hotel room before Barrientos allegedly became violent, at which point the young woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told him to stop. She accused the social media star of biting, bruising, and attempting to choke her. Photographs of bruises and bite marks on her face and neck were presented as evidence. Barrientos denied that the woman repeatedly asked him to stop but admitted to biting her multiple times, explaining it as a "love bite."

In closing arguments, prosecutor Danielle Clarke characterized Barrientos as an "entitled" man with "moderate degree of fame" who had violated the fan "in the most intrusive way possible." His defense lawyer countered that the accuser's testimony contained "inconsistencies, embellishments and outright lies."

Barrientos is known for his involvement with the YouTube collective Beta Squad, and has appeared on the celebrity version of Bake Off on Channel 4 and hosted BBC Three shows. He has 1.8 million YouTube subscribers, three million followers on TikTok, and 2.4 million on Instagram.