YouTube star Yung Filly will take the stand in rape trial to defend allegations of assault
British YouTube star Yung Filly will give evidence next week to defend claims that he violently raped and strangled a woman after a performance in Perth two years ago.
The 30-year-old actor, whose real name is Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos, is accused of biting, slapping, strangling and raping a 20-year-old fan after his concert at Hillarys nightclub Bar1 in September 2024.
He denies the allegations and claims the pair had consensual sex in a room at the Intercontinental Hotel in Hay Street, where he was staying.
On Friday, his legal team confirmed he will testify in the witness box next week, detailing his version of events for the first time.
The announcement came on Friday afternoon following criticism from the legal team of the police investigation into the allegations.
During cross-examination, Barrientos’ attorney, David Edwardson, accused the investigating officer of not being impartial and ignoring potential key witnesses who could corroborate their client’s version of events.
Detective Melissa James was asked about a person the complainant was seen speaking to on CCTV just after leaving Barrientos’ hotel room in the early hours of the morning following the alleged attack.
Who she spoke to remained a mystery throughout the hearing, as the woman testified earlier in the week that she could not remember.
But Edwardson criticized James for not taking further steps to find out who the caller was, claiming the person could have provided vital evidence into the woman’s state of mind and behavior in the moments after she claimed she had been attacked.
Edwardson also questioned the officer about why the Uber driver who took the woman home from the hotel was not asked to give a statement to police.
“What steps did the police take to obtain a statement from the first person 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. “Can you contact WA Police?” Are there a few calls saying?
“Yes,” he replied.
“And that’s all?” he asked again.
“This was not our priority at that time. We were taking witness statements. We would follow up on the matter at a later stage.”
Edwardson called it “gross negligence” before claiming the officer had “other things going on at the time.”
James said police were under pressure to prepare a strong enough case to obtain an extradition order that would see Barrientos brought back to Perth from Queensland, where he was on tour, before flying to the UK days later.
Edwardson also criticized James for failing to obtain a statement from Barrientos’ personal security guard, whom he called “an extremely relevant witness.”
James argued that Barrientos became hostile when he met him in person during his arrest and then told him he had made numerous phone calls that went unanswered.
“Were you really interested in being impartial?” he said.
“Yes,” he replied.
“Did you really want to find evidence that would determine this man’s fate?” he continued.
“Yes,” he replied.
Barrientos is expected to testify on Monday and the trial is expected to conclude next week.
