British rapper Yung Filly will face a rape retrial in Australia beginning on 15 June after jurors could not agree on verdicts for three charges, all of which he denies.
The 31-year-old performer, whose real name is Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos, was tried in Perth in July over allegations made by a fan who was 20 at the time of the alleged incident.
She alleges Barrientos repeatedly raped and assaulted her in his hotel room after a concert in Western Australia in 2024. The court previously heard that the pair initially had consensual sex before, according to the woman, the encounter became violent and Barrientos refused to stop.
What happened at the first trial?
The jury returned a mixed set of decisions in July. Barrientos was acquitted of three rape charges, one assault charge and one count of strangulation. Jurors found him guilty of two separate assault charges.
They could not reach verdicts on three further rape charges, leaving prosecutors able to pursue those allegations again. Barrientos has denied all three.
At a hearing on Friday, the District Court in Perth set 15 June as the opening date for the retrial. Proceedings are expected to last eight days, assuming the court timetable behaves itself.
Barrientos did not have to attend Friday’s hearing. He is understood to have returned to the United Kingdom after the court amended his bail conditions and gave him permission to leave Australia.
When will Yung Filly be sentenced?
Sentencing for the two assault charges on which Barrientos was convicted will not take place until after the retrial. That means the outstanding rape case will be heard before the court decides his punishment for the existing convictions.
Born in Colombia and raised in the United Kingdom, Barrientos built an online audience through music, comedy and collaborations with the YouTube collective Beta Squad.
He has also moved into mainstream British television, appearing on Channel 4’s celebrity edition of The Great British Bake Off and presenting programmes for BBC Three. The court proceedings in Australia now remain unresolved until the scheduled retrial.
