JLS singer Oritsé Williams cleared of raping fan

CNN/Stylemagazine.com Newswire | 5/28/2019, 9:45 a.m.
JLS singer Oritsé Williams has been cleared of raping a woman after a 2016 concert. Williams and his tour manager …
Ortise Williams

Originally Published: 28 MAY 19 08:50 ET

By Rob Picheta, CNN

(CNN) -- JLS singer Oritsé Williams has been cleared of raping a woman after a 2016 concert.

Williams and his tour manager Jamien Nagadhana, both 32, were charged by police in September, over allegations of a sexual offence in a hotel room in Wolverhampton, England.

Both men denied the charge and were found not guilty at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Tuesday, the UK's Press Association (PA) agency reported.

Williams, who was touring as a solo artist at the time, told the jury he had consensual sex with the woman. The prosecution had alleged he tried to have sex with her, before later raping her when she returned to the room to collect her belongings.

The singer, who starred in four-piece pop group JLS until they disbanded in 2013, showed little reaction as the jury's unanimous verdict was announced, according to PA, but said "thank you" to the judge after being told he could leave the dock.

The trial ran for two weeks and the jury took just over two hours to reach their verdict. Williams had been granted unconditional bail in November.

He had risen to fame when the group finished as runners-up on "The X Factor" reality TV show in 2008. They went on to release five UK No. 1 singles.

Williams announced he was suspending his charity work in the wake of his arrest. He wrote in a statement at the time: "Unfortunately the press speculation is likely to be unhelpful to the charities I work with."

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