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The
29-year-old, whose real name is Andres Felipe Valencia
Barrientos, was freed on bail when he appeared Thursday on
several charges in a court in Perth, the west coast city where
police allege his crimes were allegedly committed on Sept. 28.
His bail conditions include that he remain in Western Australia
state, doesn’t contact his alleged victim and doesn’t post about
the case on social media.
He was ordered to surrender his passport and to report to police
daily. His surety was set at 100,000 Australian dollars
($67,400).
Prosecutors had opposed bail because of a risk that he would
flee the state.
His lawyer, Seamus Rafferty, did not immediately respond to a
request for comment on Friday.
Barrientos is currently touring Australia and was arrested in
the east coast city of Brisbane on Tuesday, a police statement
said. The Colombia-born entertainer, who has 1.8 million
followers on YouTube, was extradited back to Perth on Wednesday.
His Australian tour began in Perth and traveled to Melbourne and
Sydney before it was scheduled to end in Brisbane.
Police allege he assaulted a woman aged in her 20s in a hotel
room after he had performed in a Perth nightclub.
His show at Bar1 Nightclub was promoted by ticket-selling
platform MoshTix as a "seamless blend of spontaneity, humor and
music that’ll have you talking for weeks!”
He is charged with four counts of rape, three counts of assault
causing bodily harm and one count of impeding the woman’s normal
breathing or circulation by applying pressure to her neck,
police said.
Barrientos started his YouTube career in 2013 and music career
in 2017. He has also hosted or appeared in several television
programs.
He won a MOBO Award, an annual British music award presentation
honoring achievements in “music of Black origin,” in the Best
Media Personality category in 2021.
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