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British YouTube star Yung Filly will give evidence next week to defend allegations he violently raped and strangled a woman after a performance in Perth two years ago.
The 30-year-old, whose real name is Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos, is accused of biting, slapping, strangling and raping a 20-year-old fan after a gig at Hillarys nightclub, Bar1, in September 2024.
He denies the allegations and claims the pair engaged in consensual sex in a room at the Intercontinental Hotel on Hay Street where he was staying.
On Friday his legal team confirmed he would give evidence from the witness stand next week, detailing his version of events for the first time.
The announcement came on Friday afternoon following criticism by his legal team of the police investigation into the allegations.
Under cross-examination, Barrientos’ lawyer David Edwardson accused the investigating officer of not being impartial and ignoring potential key witnesses that could have corroborated his clients’ version of events.
Detective Melissa James was asked about a person the complainant was seen talking to on CCTV moments after she left Barrientos’ hotel room in the early hours of the morning after the alleged assault.
Who she spoke to has remained a mystery throughout the trial as the woman testified earlier in the week she could not remember.
Edwardson, however, criticised James for not taking further steps to find out who the caller was, claiming the person could have provided vital evidence regarding the woman’s state of mind and behaviour moments after she claims she was attacked.
Edwardson also questioned the officer about why an Uber driver who drove the woman home from the hotel was also not asked to provide a statement to police.
“What steps did police take to get a statement from the very first person who contacted [the complainant]?” he asked.
“We left a message for him to call us back but he didn’t,” James replied.
“And that’s it?” Edwardson asked. ″A few calls saying can you get in touch with the WA Police?”
“Yes,” she responded.
“And that was it?” he asked again.
“That wasn’t our priority at that time. We were getting witness statements. We were going to follow up at a later stage.”
Edwardson called it “a huge omission” before the officer argued they “had other things going on at the time”.
James said police were under pressure to put together a strong enough case to obtain an extradition order to bring Barrientos back to Perth from Queensland where he was on tour before he flew home to the UK days later.
Edwardson also criticised James for not getting a statement from Barrientos’ personal security guard whom he called “a highly relevant witness”.
James argued he was hostile when she met him in person during the arrest of Barrientos and that she followed up with multiple phone calls to him that she says went unanswered.
“Were you genuinely interested in being impartial?” he said.
“Yes,” she replied.
“Were you genuinely interested in finding evidence that would determine this man’s fate?” he continued.
“Yes,” he replied.
Barrientos is due to give evidence on Monday and trial is expected to conclude next week.
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