The jury decided: Slowthai is not guilty. The rapper is said to have burst into tears when the verdict was announced.
British rapper Slowthai was acquitted on Monday (December 16) in his trial for allegedly raping two women. Co-defendant Alex Blake-Walker was also not found guilty.
Acquittal for Slowthai and his friend
The 29-year-old, whose real name is Tyron Frampton, had to answer with his friend at Oxford Crown Court over allegations of sexual abuse at a party in 2021 against two alleged victims. As “Sky News” reported, both have now been acquitted of all counts. The jury announced their decision after more than ten hours of deliberations. The two-week trial has now ended.
When the verdict was announced, the rapper burst into tears. Frampton’s wife, the singer Anne-Marie, who was present in the hall, also breathed a sigh of relief. The judge in charge, Ian Pringle, also said that the emotions in the courtroom were high during the trial. This trial “aroused a lot of feelings,” said the chairman of the court, according to Sky News.
To the background
The incident in question took place in Oxford in the early hours of September 8, 2021. At a house party after a concert, Slowthai and his friend Alex Blake-Walker are said to have first isolated two women from their friends and then raped them. From the plaintiffs’ point of view, everything allegedly “happened very quickly”. They further accused the team of “high-fiving each other” during the crime. The rapper confirmed this in his statement to the jury, according to Sky News. However, this gesture did not serve to encourage each other to commit the alleged act.
Only after the intervention of friends of the plaintiffs did the two accused escape on that morning. The two women reported to police a short time later, and Frampton and Blake-Walker were arrested. The friends were ultimately charged with oral and vaginal rape. In his statement to the jury, the rapper said that the allegations made against him were “simply not true” and that the women were “lying.” In her opinion, the sexual acts would only have taken place with the plaintiffs’ consent.