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The West Australian District Court has determined that British rapper Yung Filly will stand trial again on three counts of rape, according to a report by the BBC. The 31-year-old, whose legal name is Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos, was acquitted last month of three similar sexual penetration charges along with one count of assault and a charge of strangulation. He was convicted on two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm in the same proceedings, with sentencing for those offences to follow the conclusion of the retrial.
The charges stem from an incident in a Perth hotel room in September 2024 after the performer had appeared at a nightclub in the suburb of Hillarys. Court testimony described how the 20-year-old complainant initially engaged in consensual activity with the rapper before alleging that he became violent and disregarded her objections. An Associated Press dispatch from Perth detailed that the jury deliberated following an eight-day trial before delivering its partial verdict.
According to ABC News, the hung jury on the three additional rape allegations has led prosecutors to schedule a retrial on those specific matters. Barrientos had originally faced a total of six rape charges, three assault charges and one count of choking, all of which he denied. The figures align with the jury’s decisions that cleared him on some counts while leaving others unresolved.
The Guardian reported that the entertainer wept upon hearing the mixed outcomes in the Perth courtroom. His legal team has indicated he will seek to vary his current bail arrangements when he returns to court on August 27. No specific date for the retrial has been announced by judicial authorities at this stage.
Yung Filly built his career as a popular YouTuber and musician with a large international audience, which drew significant media interest to the proceedings. Coverage across British and Australian outlets has highlighted the contrast between his public persona and the serious nature of the allegations. The case continues to unfold under the oversight of the Western Australian justice system.
The initial trial featured testimony from both the complainant and the accused regarding the events of that evening, an AP News report stated. Prosecutors argued the encounter escalated into non-consensual acts, while the defence maintained that all activity remained consensual until the point of the admitted assaults. Further details from the retrial are expected to emerge as the matter progresses through the courts.
