Boy George jailed for escort attack

16 January 2009 02:33pm

Boy George has been jailed for 15 months for handcuffing a male escort to a wall and beating him with a metal chain.

The 47-year-old former Culture Club singer, whose real name is George O'Dowd, imprisoned Audun Carlsen during a drug-fuelled naked photoshoot at his flat in Shoreditch, east London.

Sentencing the musician at Snaresbrook Crown Court in east London, the judge told him he was guilty of "gratuitous violence".

"Whilst I accept that Mr Carlsen's physical injuries were not serious or permanent, 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 said.

Boy George and the male escort he imprisoned were behaving like "drug-crazed idiots", the singer's barrister had previously admitted.

He said the singer's continuing battle with cocaine addiction contributed to his actions in April last year.

"He's on the way up. The fact that he is, when sober, a kind and generous man means there is no shortage of people to help him through his recovery.

"This defendant is a kind and generous man who is particularly mindful of others' needs. He is the antithesis of the haughty bullying star."

He said that the case represented "rock bottom" for Boy George but said he was making a concerted effort to deal with his drug addiction and was "on his way up" again.

© The Press Association