UK rapper Yung Filly cleared on three rape counts

British rapper and YouTuber Yung Filly has been acquitted on three counts of sexual penetration without consent but convicted of two assault offences following his trial in Australia.

A 12-member jury failed to reach verdicts on three other counts of sexual penetration without consent after more than 10 hours of deliberations.

The 30-year-old entertainer, whose real name is Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos, was also found not guilty of assault occasioning bodily harm and strangulation.

Barrientos will remain on bail until 21 August, when the court will determine a date for his sentencing over the two assault convictions.

Prosecutors are also expected to decide whether to pursue the three unresolved sexual penetration charges.

Barrientos was accused of sexually assaulting a woman, who was 20 at the time, inside a Perth hotel room in September 2024. She cannot be identified for legal reasons.

Prosecutor Danielle Clarke described Barrientos as an “entitled man” with a “moderate degree of fame” who subjected the woman to sexual violence.

“She meant nothing to him,” Clarke told the court.

“What could have been and should have been consensual sex quickly escalated into sexual violence and a non-consensual nightmare.”

Prosecutors alleged that the woman initially consented to sex but later withdrew her consent after becoming fearful for her safety.

Barrientos admitted biting the woman on her face, neck and breasts during the encounter but maintained that the acts were consensual.

“In England we would call it a love bite,” he told the court.

“There was kissing in between; I would give her a love bite and then kiss her. I don’t recall any blood.”

Jurors were shown photographs of bruises and bite marks on the woman’s face and neck. A bite wound on her right breast reportedly required a tetanus injection.

Barrientos denied that the woman repeatedly asked him to stop or that he forced her to continue after she withdrew consent.

His defence barrister, David Edwardson, argued that the complainant’s account was “riddled with inconsistencies, embellishments and outright lies”.

Edwardson rejected suggestions that she had been exploited by a powerful celebrity, arguing that she went to the hotel voluntarily.

“She was an adult, and she was perfectly capable of making her own decisions about what she would and wouldn’t do,” he said.

Barrientos told the court that he met the woman at a Perth nightclub after his performance and was attracted to her.

“I fancied her and we got chatting. The vibes were good and she had a really good energy about her,” he said.

He also admitted that his bodyguard collected the woman’s phone before she entered the hotel room but denied that it was intended to prevent her from leaving.

“It is standard practice for someone in the limelight to protect privacy,” he said.

The Colombian-born entertainer had performed in Sydney and Melbourne before arriving in Perth during his Australian tour.

He was arrested several days later in Brisbane, where the tour was expected to end.