Slowthai cleared of sexual assault charges

Slowthai was cleared of raping two women during a house party.

The rapper, whose real name is Tyron Frampton, and his co-accused Alex Blake-Walker, were accused of rape after the musician’s performance at Bullingdon in Oxford on the evening of September 7, 2021.

Both Frampton, who is 29, and Blake-Walker, who is 27, have always denied the allegations made against them. Now, after the jury at Oxford Crown Court retired on Thursday at the end of a two-week trial, the rapper and his friend have been cleared of rape charges, Sky News reported.

Frampton reportedly burst into tears in the dock as the not guilty verdicts were read. The agency also reported that the jury consisted of eight men and four women, who reached the majority verdict after more than 10 hours of deliberation.

Patrick Gibbs KC, the lawyer defending Frampton, said in court, in defense of his client, that there are a dozen “problems” with the charges outlined and said that Slowthai is not “the stereotype of a rapper that everyone has “, describing him as a “thoughtful and modest man who throws himself, sometimes recklessly, into life”.

Also during the court proceedings, the lawyer of the rapper’s friend and co-defendant Blake-Walker, Sheryl Nwosu, stated that the evidence outlined “does not match Mr. Blake-Walker and his behavior on the night”, while Judge Ian Pringe said the case is a “consent issue.”

Last week, the judge asked jurors to “put aside any feelings of like or dislike” and make the decision in a “calm and cool manner”, adding that they “must be sure of guilt” if they want to convict the two men .

Slowthai was nominated for the Mercury Prize for his 2019 debut album ‘Nothing Great About Britain’, while his second album ‘Tyron’ reached number one upon release in 2021. Slowthai’s latest release artist was “UGLY”, released in March.

The stage name of Slowthai combines a reference to his slow speech in childhood with an abbreviation of his name.