A London court found the former Culture Club crooner guilty on Friday of falsely imprisoning a male escort whom he hired for an erotic porn shoot.
The 47-year-old George, who's full name is George O'Dowd, was accused of handcuffing 28-year-old Audun Carlsen to a wall in his apartment last April and then roughing him up before the model managed to wriggle free of the restraints, flee the flat and seek help.During the two-week trial, jurors heard testimony from Carlsen how the "Karma Chameleon" purveyor invited him over to his home to take nude photos, then locked him up and accused the escort of swiping pictures off his computer.
According to Carlsen, the accusations were merely an excuse for George and another man to get nasty. He claimed the two then held him down and punched and beat him repeatedly with a metal chain because he refused to have sex with the singer.
While the Norwegian native did admit to having a previous sexual liason with George that involved some bondage, he rejected suggestions made by the '80s popster's attorney that he had acquiesced to another such tryst.
The jury agreed and around noon GMT time Thursday began deliberating George' fate before settling on today's guilty verdict.
The entertainer, who declined to take the stand in his own defense but had previously admitted to police that he handcuffed him while he went to check his computer, will now almost certainly tumble to the slammer.
Per CNN, Judge David Radford allowed George to remain free on bail while he awaits his punishment, but he also cautioned him that he would likely face prison time.
"The fact that your bail is being continued does not imply that this will be dealt with by a non-custodial sentence," he said. "I don't want any false expectations created."
A sentencing date has been set for Jan. 16.
Source: eonline.com
