British Musician Rex Orange County's Sexual Assault Charges Have Been Dropped
The sexual assault charges against Rex Orange County have been dropped, the British musician said Thursday.
The artist, whose given name is Alexander O'Connor and who is best known for his song "Loving Is Easy," was charged in October with six counts of sexual assault in the UK. His trial had been scheduled to begin Jan. 3.
O'Connor had been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in London on June 1, according to the Sun. He allegedly assaulted her again the next day, once in a taxi and three times in his Notting Hill home.
But in an Instagram post on Thursday, the musician said the charges had been dismissed. British prosecutors "reviewed the evidence and decided that there is no merit in this case going to trial" and "not guilty verdicts were entered to all the charges."
"I have always denied these allegations and am grateful that the independent evidence has cleared me of any wrongdoing," he wrote. "I have never assaulted anyone and I do not condone violence or abusive behaviour of any kind.”
O'Connor said he had been "wrongly accused of touching someone one evening on their leg, neck, back, and bottom," and that "the only evidence against [him] was the individual's account."
"However, CCTV footage obtained by the police contradicted their version of events," he wrote. "Their partner was also present throughout the evening in question and gave a statement to the police which did not support the allegations against me."
The Crown Prosecution Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BuzzFeed News, but confirmed to the BBC that the charges had been dropped.
"CPS prosecutors have a duty to keep each case under review," they said. "Having carefully considered all the evidence, our legal test for a prosecution was no longer met and so we will not be continuing a prosecution.
"We will always seek to prosecute sexual offences, where our legal test is met, no matter how challenging."
In July, shortly after the night of the alleged incident, O'Connor announced on social media that he would cancel all remaining tour dates due to "personal circumstances," though he did not say what they were.
After he was charged, in a statement to BuzzFeed News, a publicist for O'Connor said he was "shocked by the allegations, which he denies and looks forward to clearing his name in court."
Rex Orange County Has Been Accused Of Sexually Assaulting A Woman Six TimesPaige Skinner · Oct. 10, 2022
