British rapper and YouTube personality Yung Filly has admitted to reckless driving while on bail in Australia over rape and assault charges.
The 29-year-old, real name Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos, is on bail in western Australia under strict conditions after he was accused of three counts of assault occasioning bodily harm and four counts of sexual penetration without consent.
He has also been charged with one count of impeding another person’s breathing or circulation by applying pressure to the neck.
Court documents revealed Barrientos pleaded guilty to the driving charge on 5 December. The social media star was caught driving 158kmph (more than 98mph) on the Roe Highway near the Perth suburb of High Wycombe on 17 November. ABC News reported that the limit on the road in question was 100kmph.
No plea has been entered in relation to the sexual assault charges, and Barrientos gave no comments to reporters as he left the courthouse on Thursday.
Barrientos’s bail conditions stipulate that he must remain in western Australia and report daily to the police. They also include a ban on posting to social media about the case or contacting his alleged victim.
Barrientos’ bail was extended until his next court appearance on 30 January.
The alleged assault of a woman in her twenties is said to have taken place on 28 September in a Perth hotel room, after a performance at the nightclub Bar120 on 27 September.
Born in Cali, Colombia, Barrientos moved to the UK with his family as a child, first to Orpington in Bromley and then to south-east London, where he took an interest in the local grime scene.
He rose to fame in 2017 after he began releasing songs online, at the same time growing a huge online fanbase through his YouTube channel, which has 1.4 million subscribers and a total of around 120 million views since he joined in 2013.
Among his most notable releases are 2020’s ‘Confidence’ featuring fellow rappers Chunkz and Geko, 2022’s ‘Day to Day’ with grime veteran Chip, and his collaboration with Brit Award-winning star Aitch on ‘Grey’, which was released earlier this year.
In recent years, he has also hosted a number of shows including Yung Filly’s Celeb Lock-in and Hot Property on the BBC, and he appeared on Channel 4’s The Great Celebrity Bake Off in 2022.
Rape Crisis offers support for those affected by rape and sexual abuse. You can call them on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, and 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland, or visit their website at www.rapecrisis.org.uk. If you are in the US, you can call Rainn on 800-656-HOPE (4673)
