British YouTuber and rapper Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos, known professionally as Yung Filly, took the witness stand at the West Australian District Court on July 27, 2026, to describe the night he met a 20-year-old woman at a Perth nightclub before the pair returned to his hotel — where the prosecution alleges he raped and assaulted her.

Barrientos, 30, faces six charges of sexually penetrating the woman without her consent (meaning intercourse that occurred without voluntary agreement), one charge of impeding her breathing by applying pressure to her neck, and three counts of assault causing bodily harm. The charges stem from an incident in a Perth hotel room in September 2024, during an Australian tour. He was arrested and charged in October 2024 The Guardian. The BBC reported in June 2025 that he faced two additional sexual assault charges in Australia on top of those already before the court BBC.

The trial began on July 20, 2026 ABC News. In its opening, the prosecution told the jury the young woman had a "celebrity crush" on Barrientos. A doctor testified on July 22 about injuries the complainant allegedly sustained ABC News. ABC News published a recap of the first week of proceedings on July 26 ABC News.

Giving evidence in his own defence, Barrientos told the court he met the woman at Bar1, a Perth nightclub, after his performance. He said he invited her back to his hotel room while they chatted in the VIP area. The pair left the venue in a mini-van with Barrientos's entourage around 3:30am and drove to the Intercontinental Hotel in Perth's central business district The Guardian.

Under cross-examination by prosecutor Danielle Clarke, Barrientos said he initially grabbed the woman's hand as they left the nightclub but let go because he did not want to be seen on social media. CCTV footage from the Intercontinental Hotel, shown to the jury, showed Barrientos walking ahead of his entourage and the woman after they exited the van. The group then entered a lift.

Barrientos told the court the sex was consensual — meaning both parties agreed to it — and described it as "great." He said he "fancied" the woman ABC News. He denied choking and slapping her. However, he admitted biting her numerous times, calling the bites "love bites." The jury was shown images of the woman's alleged injuries, including deep bruising and bite marks on her face and neck.

The woman had previously testified that Barrientos put his hands down her pants and touched her breast while they were in the nightclub, a claim Barrientos denied. He also denied giving the woman tequila shots, saying the drinks were handed around by the bar manager. Barrientos agreed that the woman's phone was taken from her, describing the practice as standard for someone in the limelight to protect privacy The Guardian.

The trial has drawn sustained media attention across Australia and the UK. Barrientos was permitted to travel to the UK on bail in September 2025 ahead of the trial ABC News. Nine.com.au reported on July 24 that he would give evidence in his own defence Nine.com.au.

The case turns on competing accounts of a single night. The prosecution's evidence includes medical testimony about the complainant's injuries, CCTV footage of the group's movements through the hotel, and the woman's own testimony. Barrientos's defence rests on his assertion of consent and his characterisation of the physical contact, including the biting, as consensual sexual activity.

The broader context here is that the jury must weigh his testimony against the photographic evidence of injuries and the complainant's account of events in both the nightclub and the hotel room. In a criminal trial, the prosecution must prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, a high standard designed to protect the accused from wrongful conviction. The defence does not need to prove anything; it needs only to raise enough doubt in the jurors' minds. That dynamic places the photographic evidence and the woman's testimony at the centre of the case, because the defence's consent claim directly contradicts the severity of the injuries documented by medical professionals.

The trial continues at the West Australian District Court.