80s pop star Alan O’Dowd, commonly known as Boy George, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for acts of "gratuitous violence".
O’Dowd, 47, admitted to Snaresbrook Crown Court that he had handcuffed Norwegian escort Audun Carlsen, 29, to a radiator in his Shoreditch flat, believing him to have stolen photographs from his computer. He had planned to locate the missing items while Carlsen was detained. O’Dowd denied charges of false imprisonment.
The presiding Judge Radford said that the handcuffing, taking place in April 2007, was "humiliating", and that it "shocked, degraded and traumatised" the victim. The two had met on a gay social networking site, and had arranged to meet for a first time, when Carlsen allegedly stole personal photographs from O’Dowd’s laptop. O’Dowd then invited Carlsen back when, with an accomplice, he handcuffed the Norwegian to a bed and beat him in an effort to recover the stolen property.
With his group Culture Club, O’Dowd had chart success with singles such as ‘I’m Afraid Of Me’, ‘Mystery Boy’ and ‘Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?"
