Boy George jailed

Boy George and escort behaved like "drug crazed idiots", a court heard

16 January 2009 - Boy George has been sentenced to 15 months in prison after being convicted of falsely imprisoning a male escort.

The Culture Club frontman denied the charge at Snaresbrook crown court and claimed the victim, Norwegian Audun Carlsen, 29, had stolen photos from his laptop.

The singer, whose real name is George O'Dowd, had told police he invited Carlsen back to his home after a cocaine-fuelled pornographic photo shoot in January, 2007, because he suspected the Norwegian of stealing pictures from his computer.

He admitted handcuffing Carlsen to a wall in April 2007 but said he did so in order to trace the missing property.

During the trial Carlsen claimed that Boy George handcuffed and beat him because he was angry that he'd refused to sleep with him when they had first met.

The court heard that the pair had initially come into contact via a gay social-networking site.

Judge David Radford told the singer he was guilty of "gratuitous violence".

"He [Carlsen] was deprived of his liberty and human dignity without warning or proper explanation to him of its purpose."
Judge David Radford

"Whilst I accept that Mr Carlsen's physical injuries were not serious or permanent," said Radford, "In my view there can be no doubt that your premeditated callous and humiliating handcuffing and detention of Mr Carlsen shocked, degraded and traumatised him.

"He was deprived of his liberty and human dignity without warning or proper explanation to him of its purpose, length or purported justification."

The 80's pop icon was previously convicted in 1977 for theft, as well as a drugs offence ten years after that.

He also faced a stint of community service in New York in 2006, after pleading guilty to falsely reporting a burglary at his flat in the city.

Before the sentencing, his barrister Adrian Waterman told the court that O'Dowd, who did not give evidence during the trial, was recovering from his well documented drug addiction.

O'Dowd and Carlsen behaved like "two drug-crazed idiots", he said, continuing: "He (O'Dowd) is on the way back from that nether world. I am emboldened to say that there is enormous hope."

Culture Club boast seven British and nine American Top 10 hits and have sold more than 50 million records.

Elizabeth Alker / Georgie Rogers