Escort on Boy George story sale

25 November 2008 03:05pm

A male escort who claims he was beaten by Boy George sold his story to a magazine because he wanted money to leave the country, a court has heard.

Audun Carlsen, 29, has told Snaresbrook Crown Court that the singer beat him to the floor, handcuffed him and threatened to give him "what you deserve".

The court heard on Tuesday that Mr Carlsen - who is Norwegian - earned £5,500 from a Norwegian magazine for an interview he gave about the incident.

Asked why he did not tell police officers who spoke to him on May 2, 2007, that just days earlier - and days after the alleged attack - he had met with a reporter.

He said: "I told the police everything that I had received when the story came out."

He denied that he had not been "straightforward".

He said: "The reason I gave this interview was because of all the things that were written, for the sake of my family."

He said he wanted the money because he was "too scared to stay in the country" and wanted to go to Germany for some months.

Yesterday the court heard Mr Carlsen's claim that Boy George - real name whose George O'Dowd - and another man leapt on him, wrestled him to the floor and started beating him.

Boy George, of Shoreditch, east London, denies one charge of false imprisonment.

© The Press Association