The former JLS popstar Oritse Williams has been charged with allegedly raping a fan. Williams, 31, from Croydon, London, was arrested in December 2016 and had only now been officially charged with allegedly raping a 20-year-old waitress It’s alleged that the rape occurred when he invited two women back to his hotel room after a gig promoting his then new solo album at Gorgeous club, in Wolverhampton in December 2016.
A second man and Williams’ friend, Jamien Nagadhana, who was in the hotel room at the time of the alleged incident, has also been charged. However, Nagadhana has been charged with sexual assault and not rape, which the police described in a statement as “assault by penetration”.
Confirming the charge, West Midlands Police in a statement, said: “We’ve charged two men with sexual offences after an allegation of rape at a Wolverhampton hotel. Oritse Williams, aged 31, from Croydon, London, has been charged with rape. Jamien Nagadhana, aged 31, from Hounslow, London, has been charged with assault by penetration.”
The statement continued: “West Midlands Police were called to a Wolverhampton hotel at 7.45am on Friday 2 December after an allegation of rape and sexual assault was made by a 20-year-old woman.”
After Williams’ initial arrest he was then released on bail several times, and it wasn’t until now that he was charged with the allege rape. On the 11th of October 2018, both men are now due to appear at Walsall and Aldridge Magistrates Court.
Oritse Williams has previously denied the allegations. At the time of his arrest, his management company released the following statement: “All we wish to say at this time is that Oritse denies the allegations against him. The matter is in the hands of the police and it would be totally wrong for us to comment any further.”
As a result of the alleged incident, Williams stepped back from his charity work and shortly after the story first emerged, he said: “I had taken a conscious decision to avoid talking to the press about the matter whilst the police are conducting their investigation as I do not think it appropriate to do so.
“Unfortunately, the press speculation is likely to be unhelpful to the charities I work with and the decision I have taken is with their best interests in mind. It is unfair to everyone. I would ask that the press respect the privacy of everyone involved and their families at this time, and allow the police to continue with their work without further distraction.”
It was on series five of The X Factor that Williams initially shot to fame, coming second on the hit show with JLS, along with his bandmates Aston Merrygold; Marvin Humes and Jonathan (JB) Gill.
