Rape acquittal ends EX-JLS singer’s ‘three years of hell’
A FORMER singer with the band JLS endured “three years of hell” waiting to clear his name after a fan accused him of rape.
It took a jury two hours yesterday to unanimously acquit Oritsé Williams after seeing CCTV footage of the pair “acting like a couple”, finding the pop star had consensual sex with a woman who attended one of his solo concerts in Wolverhampton in 2016.
Mr Williams and his tour manager, Jamien Nagadhana, both 32, were cleared of two sexual assault charges relating to the same woman.
After the verdict, Mr Williams left Wolverhampton Crown Court without commenting. But, his former bandmate Marvin Humes said the verdict meant “three years of hell is over”, adding: “I’m just so proud of the way he conducted himself during what has been the most awful time.”
The prosecution claimed Mr Williams tried to have sex with the woman, then raped her when she returned to his hotel room to get her belongings.
Mr Williams, from Croydon, south London, insisted they had consensual sex after meeting in a nightclub.
However, the encounter ended in embarrassment because he was “unable to perform” having consumed a lot of alcohol. Mr Williams’ lawyer claimed the woman’s complaint was influenced by the “extreme reaction” of a friend upon being told of the encounter.
Mr Nagadhana, from Hounslow, west London, said he had touched the woman in a bid to start a threesome.
The jury was shown CCTV from the venue which showed the woman at one point “on top” of the singer.
Mark Cotter, Mr Nagadhana’s lawyer, said: “When she and Oritsé Williams are standing outside the club, you may think they look for all the world as though they are a couple.”