British YouTuber and rapper Yung Filly has been cleared of rape charges but convicted on two counts of assault following a high-profile trial in Perth, Western Australia.
A jury on Friday (July 31) found the 30-year-old, whose real name is Andrés Felipe Valencia Barrientos, not guilty on three counts of sexual penetration without consent. Jurors were unable to reach a verdict on three additional rape charges. He was also acquitted of one assault count and a strangulation charge.
However, the jury found him guilty of two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm relating to bites he inflicted on the woman’s neck, cheek and breast. Barrientos, who had pleaded not guilty to all 10 charges, reportedly cried as the verdicts were read out. He remains on bail and is due to return to court on 21 August, when a sentencing date for the assault convictions will be set. Prosecutors are expected to indicate at that hearing whether they will seek a retrial on the three undecided sexual penetration charges.
The allegations arose from an encounter in the early hours of 28 September 2024. Barrientos was performing at Bar1 nightclub in Hillarys, a northern suburb of Perth, as part of his first Australian tour. The then-20-year-old complainant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court she had been a fan of the performer and met him in the VIP area. She said she believed she was heading to an after-party when she joined him and his entourage in a private minivan.
CCTV footage released by the court on the day of the verdict shows the pair arriving at the InterContinental Hotel on Hay Street in Perth. The woman gave evidence that sex began consensually in Barrientos’ hotel room but turned violent. She alleged he repeatedly bit her face, neck and breasts — hard enough to break the skin on one breast, requiring a tetanus shot — slapped her, choked her, and continued sexual acts after she said “no” and began to cry. She also claimed he demanded she use degrading language about herself. Photographs of bruising to her face and neck, and a bite wound on her breast, were shown to the jury.
Barrientos gave evidence in his own defence. He admitted biting the woman on her face, neck and breasts but described the acts as “love bites” involving sucking and tongue movements. He said the sex had been “amazing,” that she appeared to be enjoying it, and that he did not recall her asking him to stop or any blood being drawn. He denied slapping or choking her. A member of his security team told the court the woman appeared to be smiling when he later escorted her from the room.
Judge Linda Black presided over the trial, which attracted dozens of the performer’s young fans. Some were barred from the main courtroom after illegally filming and posting footage on TikTok. Barrientos, who was born in Colombia and raised in south London, rose to prominence through the YouTube collective Beta Squad. He has appeared on the celebrity version of The Great British Bake Off and presented BBC Three programmes. The case interrupted his career, and he was allowed to return to the UK for several months on bail before the trial.
Assault occasioning bodily harm carries a maximum penalty under Western Australian law, though sentencing submissions and any decision on a possible retrial remain ahead. The jury’s findings mean Barrientos has been cleared of the rape charges on which verdicts were reached, while the two assault convictions and three unresolved counts leave parts of the case open.
