Rex Orange County, 24, is cleared of sexually assaulting woman

Pop star and Brit school graduate Rex Orange County, 24, is cleared of sexually assaulting woman after six charges against him were dropped due to a lack of evidence

  • The Surrey-born singer was accused of assaulting a woman in June last year
  • She claimed he assaulted her in West End, in taxi and then in Notting Hill Home
  • The CPS has dropped all charges after being unable to find enough evidence 

British pop star Rex Orange County has been cleared of all charges after being accused of sexually assaulting a woman on six occasions following a night out last summer. 

The Surrey-born Brit school graduate, 24, whose real name is Alexander O’Connor, was alleged to have carried out the offences on June 1 and 2 last year. 

The multi-instrumentalist was accused of attacking the woman twice in the West End, once in a taxi and three more times at his home in Notting Hill. He denied all counts and had a trial date planned for January 3.

However, he has now been cleared – some 18 months after the alleged incident – after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) found there was not enough evidence to continue with the case.  

British pop star Rex Orange County has been cleared of all charges after being accused of sexually assaulting a woman on six occasions following a night out last summer

Revealing the news on Instagram today, the singer wrote: ‘I have always denied these allegations and am grateful that the independent evidence has cleared me of wrongdoing.’

Revealing the news on Instagram today, the singer wrote: ‘I have always denied these allegations and am grateful that the independent evidence has cleared me of wrongdoing.

‘I have never assaulted anyone and I do not condone violence or abusive behaviour of any kind.’ 

He claimed there were ‘inaccuracies’ in the allegations, adding that he was wrongly accused of the taxi assault.

He said investigators only had the complainant’s account of what happened and said CCTV footage ‘contradicted their version of events’.

O’Connor said he wanted to ‘clarify details’ about the allegations.

‘I was wrongly accused of touching someone one evening on their leg, neck, back, and bottom. That led to six charges of sexual assault,’ he said.

‘The only evidence against me was the individual’s account. However, CCTV footage obtained by the police contradicted their version of events.

 O’Connor thanked his family and others close to him for their ‘continued support’

The multi-instrumentalist was accused of attacking the woman twice in the West End, once in a taxi and three more times at his home in Notting Hill

‘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.’

He thanked his family and others close to him for their ‘continued support’.

He added: ‘It’s been a difficult time for everyone involved and I’d like to thank the people who have helped me through it as well as my family and loved ones for their continued support’. 

A CPS spokesperson said: ‘CPS prosecutors have a duty to keep each case under review. 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.’

O’Connor attended the prestigious Brit school of performing arts and first rose to prominance in 2017 when he was featured on an album by American rapper Tyler, the Creator.

He caught the attention of the Grammy-winning artist after releasing his debut album ‘Bcos U Will Never b Free’. 

The pair collaborated on ‘Flower Boy’, which was nominated for a Grammy, with O’Connor co-writing and singing on songs ‘Boredom’ and ‘Foreward’.

He would later come second in the BBC Sound of 2018, behind Norwegian pop star Sigrid. 

Since then he has released three more albums, with his fourth and most recent ‘Who Cares?’ coming out in March this year.

The album reached number one in the UK and New Zealand charts, as well as reaching the top five in the United States and Australia. 

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