After ‘three years of hell’, ex-JLS pop star cleared of raping fan
FRIENDS and former bandmates rallied around pop star Oritse Williams after he was cleared of rape yesterday.
They said the JLS singer had been through almost ‘three years of hell’ after being accused of attacking a fan in a hotel room.
A jury took two hours to clear Mr Williams, who had told the court he had consensual sex with the woman, following a nine-day trial.
His fellow former JLS star Marvin Humes, who is now a TV presenter, said his friend was looking forward to ‘starting his life again’.
Mr Humes’s wife Rochelle, 30, who presents alongside him, also welcomed the verdict, describing Mr Williams as one of the most ‘gentle, thoughtful’ men she knew. She said the jury’s decision had reduced her to tears, adding she was proud of the way her friend had conducted himself since the allegations were first made in December 2016.
Mr Williams, 32, breathed a sigh of relief in the dock as the verdict was read out. His tour manager Jamien Nagadhana, also 32, was cleared of two sexual assault charges relating to the same woman.
Mr Williams, who found fame on The X Factor, had been accused of raping the woman at the four-star Ramada Park hotel in Wolverhampton after plying her with drinks in a VIP area following a solo gig in the city. The victim, then aged 20, was described as ‘spaced out and zombified’ when she went to the hotel with Mr Williams, a friend and Mr Nagadhana.
She said Mr Williams had attacked her when she returned to the bedroom to try to find her mobile phone and he carried on despite her pleas to stop. She also said Mr Nagadhana had tried to join in and touched her.
Afterwards, she went back out into the corridor where her friend was waiting. Police were called and Mr Williams and Mr Nagadhana were arrested. Mr Williams denied rape, telling police he thought the woman wanted to have sex, that she instigated it, and that women often made a beeline for him because he was famous. The pop star had five UK number one hits with JLS before the group split in 2013.
Mr Williams told jurors he had got along ‘very, very well’ with the complainant, and claimed she was annoyed with
‘Starting his life again’
him because he was ‘unable to perform’ sexually due to the amount of alcohol he had drunk.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard the woman and two friends had queued to meet the pop star to have their picture taken ‘ for a joke’ after the gig at Gorgeous nightclub. They spent the night ‘dancing and mucking about’ in the VIP area, during which time the woman could be seen sitting on Mr Williams’ lap and kissing her female friend.
Mr Williams said the woman had pulled him out of the club after a ‘ highly sexually charged’ display in the venue. He said the woman had asked to spend the night with him and thanked him when they parted company.
Mark Cotter QC, defending, claimed the woman had a selective memory around ‘tricky’ aspects of her account. Referring to CCTV from the venue, Mr Cotter said: ‘Right at the end [she] is on top of Oritse Williams.’
Mr Nagadhana, of Hounslow, west London, said he touched the woman in a bid to start a threesome but backed off when he realised she was not consenting.
Mr Williams made no comment as he left court yesterday. Earlier this year he put his home in Croydon, south London, up for sale for £1.25million, having bought the six-bedroom property for £3million in 2013. The house, bought as a renovation project, fell into disrepair after he was charged with rape.