By Holly Thompson, Chelsea Bowden and Michael Stamp
Famous British YouTuber and rapper Yung Filly faces a long stay in WA after being accused of raping a woman following a Perth concert last month.
However, he will not remain behind bars while he fights the charges in court.
Andres Barrientos, also known as Yung Filly, has been charged with multiple sexual assault offences.
The rapper – real name Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos – performed at Bar1 in Hillarys on September 27, before continuing his tour in Melbourne, Sydney and the Gold Coast. He was arrested in Queensland and extradited to WA on Wednesday night.
Barrientos has been charged with four counts of sexual penetration without consent, three counts of assault occasioning bodily harm, and one count of impeding a person’s breathing after allegedly assaulting a woman in his hotel room after the Hillarys show.
Appearing in Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday morning, Barrientos spoke to confirm his name and that he understood his charges before applying for bail.
Police prosecutors opposed due to the serious nature of the allegations, strong evidence including CCTV, and the possibility Barrientos would interfere with a witness.
They expressed concerns there was a significant power imbalance, given Barrientos’ social media influence and large body of followers.
Barrientos boasts 3.2 million followers on Instagram and more than 1.8 million on YouTube.
They also said Barrientos was a flight risk as he had access to millions of dollars, financial support, was from the UK with no other link to WA, and that more charges may arise.
Barrientos’ defence lawyer Seamus Rafferty requested a suppression order on his client’s name being published, stating it would jeopardise his right to a fair trial.
However, journalists in court objected to this request and no orders were imposed.
Andres ‘Yung Filly’ Barrientos arriving at Perth Airport after being arrested in Queensland.Credit: 9News Perth
Rafferty said his client should be treated the same as any other accused despite his status, and there was a possibility that if he wasn’t granted bail, Barrientos would sit in custody for two years until trial.
He argued the credibility of the complainant would be called into question, stating she had rung her friend at 5.30am the morning after the alleged offending and made no mention of what had happened, and that the prosecution’s case was not as strong as they claimed.
Magistrate Tanya Watt took the morning to consider the submissions, but ultimately decided to grant Barrientos bail, conceding there would be a significant delay until his charges were resolved.
However, she imposed strict conditions.
Barrientos will be forced to remain in WA while he fights the charges – which police prosecutors flagged would revolve around the issue of consent – and will not be able to communicate with his millions of followers via social media about the case.
He must sign a $100,000 personal undertaking, and a $100,000 surety must also be signed by someone in WA.
Barrientos must also surrender his passport and report to Northbridge Police Station every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
He will also not be allowed to go within 500 metres of the alleged victim or witnesses, and cannot attend any hotels or nightclubs.
Barrientos will appear in court again on December 19.
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