BOY GEORGE RENT BOY TRIAL BEGINS

A London court has heard that singer Boy George (born George Alan O’Dowd) handcuffed a male prostitute to the wall of his bedroom and beat him with a metal chain.

According to Auden Carlsen (28), he first exchanged messages with the pop star on the Gaydar dating site in 2007. They then met at George’s apartment in London for a naked photo shoot, allegedly took cocaine and had sex, for which Carlsen was paid £300.

In the months after the meeting, the two men exchanged e-mails in which George (47) accused Carlsen of tampering with his computer. Nevertheless after George apologised for the e-mails Carlsen agreed to return to his apartment in April this year when, he said, the incident occurred.

Carlsen told the Snaresbrook Crown court that when he arrived, George and another man beat him and handcuffed him to a hook on the wall.

He said that the next morning he was able to free himself and, in his underwear, ran into a nearby shop from which the police were contacted. The fire brigade was also called to cut him free from the handcuffs.

The court was show photos of Carlsen with welts on his body to substantiate the claims of assault and of being handcuffed.

Boy George, who came to fame in the eighties with the band Culture Club, is facing charges for the false imprisonment of Carlsen, which he has denied. The trial continues.