False imprisonment cases are relatively rare but Boy George is standing trial in England for the false imprisonment of a male escort. In addition to the crime of false imprisonment, it is possible for Norwegian escort Audun Carlsen, 23, to sue civilly. The trial is unfolding in an appropriately named Snaresbrook Court and Boy George, 47 (whose real name is George O’Dowd) denies the charges.

Carlsen says that Boy George shackled him to a bedroom wall and beat him with a metal chain after accusing him of hacking into this computer. Carlsen says that he went to Boy George’s home for a naked photo shoot and later received a series of emails claiming that he had hacked into the computer. When he came back for a second photo shoot, Boy George reported handcuffed him in the bathroom and beat him until he escaped by unscrewing a hook and running virtually naked into the street.

The only obvious defenses would be that there were no beating/confinement or that any beating/confinement was consensual. The argument that he beat Carlsen to protect his computer system is obviously no good in either a criminal or civil case. One cannot protect property with force calculated to cause serious bodily injury or death.

Before one concludes that this is not surprising conduct from Boy George, more traditional figures have faced similar complaints, including Frank Sinatra who was accused of battery of a prostitute (who alleged that he ate a breakfast of eggs and bacon off her chest with a fork and knife). Then there is Liza Minnelli who has faced allegations of assault in court actions by both her former husband and a former bodyguard.

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