Boy George sentenced to 15 months in jail - 16th Jan 2009 2:34pm
Boy George sentenced to 15 months in jail for 'gratuitous violence' over beating of male escort
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Boy George arrives for his sentencing at Snaresbrook Crown Court in east London today
Boy George was sentenced to 15 months today 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, Judge David Radford told him he was guilty of 'gratuitous violence'.
His barrister earlier admitted Boy George and the male escort he imprisoned were behaving like 'drug-crazed idiots'.
Adrian Waterman said the former Culture Club star's continuing battle with cocaine addiction contributed to his actions in April last year.
He had called for his 47-year-old client - whose real name is George O'Dowd - to receive a suspended rather than custodial sentence.
The singer-turned-DJ was convicted on December 5 of detaining Norwegian escort Audun Carlsen, 29, who claims he was beaten with a metal chain as he tried to escape.
Mr Waterman told the packed courtroom at Snaresbrook Crown Court, in east London, that the case represented 'rock bottom' for O'Dowd but he was making a concerted effort to deal with his drug addiction and was 'on his way up' again.
'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.'
The barrister said O'Dowd would need time to pay £5,000 costs and added that many celebrities had written to the court in his defence.
Mr Waterman said: '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 was not himself when addled by the habitual and relatively long-lasting using of illegal drugs.'
According to Mr Waterman, friends of O'Dowd, who spoke during the trial, said the actions of the two men 'sounded like two drug-crazed idiots'.
He added: 'I submit that there is a great deal of truth in that observation.'
Mr Waterman also insisted that O'Dowd had not been driven by revenge when chaining Mr Carlsen to a wall.
'This case was not about retribution for sexual rejection four months earlier, the evidence simply does not justify that conclusion.'
Drug abuse had played a central role in the case, he said.
'Both of these persons were seriously affected by drugs, indeed habitually affected by drugs.'
He said: 'At the heart of the matter was a descent into self-destructive behaviour at the hands of the drugs.'
Boy George arrives for his sentencing at Snaresbrook Crown Court in east London today
Boy George was sentenced to 15 months today 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, Judge David Radford told him he was guilty of 'gratuitous violence'.
His barrister earlier admitted Boy George and the male escort he imprisoned were behaving like 'drug-crazed idiots'.
Adrian Waterman said the former Culture Club star's continuing battle with cocaine addiction contributed to his actions in April last year.
He had called for his 47-year-old client - whose real name is George O'Dowd - to receive a suspended rather than custodial sentence.
The singer-turned-DJ was convicted on December 5 of detaining Norwegian escort Audun Carlsen, 29, who claims he was beaten with a metal chain as he tried to escape.
Mr Waterman told the packed courtroom at Snaresbrook Crown Court, in east London, that the case represented 'rock bottom' for O'Dowd but he was making a concerted effort to deal with his drug addiction and was 'on his way up' again.
'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.'
The barrister said O'Dowd would need time to pay £5,000 costs and added that many celebrities had written to the court in his defence.
Mr Waterman said: '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 was not himself when addled by the habitual and relatively long-lasting using of illegal drugs.'
According to Mr Waterman, friends of O'Dowd, who spoke during the trial, said the actions of the two men 'sounded like two drug-crazed idiots'.
He added: 'I submit that there is a great deal of truth in that observation.'
Mr Waterman also insisted that O'Dowd had not been driven by revenge when chaining Mr Carlsen to a wall.
'This case was not about retribution for sexual rejection four months earlier, the evidence simply does not justify that conclusion.'
Drug abuse had played a central role in the case, he said.
'Both of these persons were seriously affected by drugs, indeed habitually affected by drugs.'
He said: 'At the heart of the matter was a descent into self-destructive behaviour at the hands of the drugs.'
