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Boy George 'handcuffed escort in sex photos row'
Simon Kirby24 Nov 2008
BOY GEORGE handcuffed a male escort to his bedroom wall after luring him inside, a court heard today.
The Eighties pop star is accused of falsely imprisoning Audun Carlsen in his Shoreditch flat after the pair argued about naked photographs they had produced together.
The 46-year-old allegedly produced a set of handcuffs and put one on the model's wrist while the other was placed around a hook fixed to a wall above the end of singer's bed.
But the court heard that Mr Carlsen, 29, was able to escape shortly afterwards, following a brief struggle with the overweight pop singer, and ran from the building to alert police on 28 April last year.
Prosecutor Heather Norton told the jury at Snaresbrook crown court that Mr Carlsen was a male model and sometime escort who advertised his services on the Gaydar website, and it was through Gaydar that the pair first made contact.
Boy George, whose real name is George O'Dowd, first hired Mr Carlsen to model for him in January 2007. During the photoshoot, O'Dowd photographed the younger man both clothed and naked in a number of erotic poses, the court was told.
Ms Norton said that Mr O'Dowd's attitude towards the model changed, however, once the photoshoot was over and the ex-popstar accused him of tampering with his computer.
O'Dowd contacted police about his suspicions, but did not name Mr Carlsen, and officers investigated in the days leading up to the alleged April attack.
Ms Norton told the court that the pair resumed email contact during that time, but again fell out over the use of the erotic photos on Mr Carlsen's Gaydar profile. Mr Carlsen returned to O'Dowd's flat for a second time after it appeared the two men had resolved their differences.
On the night of the alleged attack, after a second erotic photoshoot, O'Dowd left the male model relaxing on the sofa, telling him he was popping out to buy some milk. He is said to have returned shortly after and called out to the younger man to enter his bedroom.
Ms Norton told the court that O'Dowd was waiting in the bedroom with another man, who has yet to be identified, and jumped on Mr Carlsen and forced him to the floor.
Ms Norton said: "Mr O'Dowd produced a set of handcuffs and placed one end over Mr Carlsen's right wrist. The other handcuff was placed to a hook that was affixed to a wall above the end of the bed."
O'Dowd, who denies the charge, sat impassively in the dock, dressed in a black overcoat, black scarf and trainers. The trial is expected to continue until early next week.
