Boy George faces jail for imprisoning male escort

British singer Boy George could be jailed next month for falsely imprisoning a Norwegian male escort by handcuffing him to a wall, a judge said yesterday.

Judge David Radford said a prison term was "the more likely option" when he sentences the 47-year-old former Culture Club frontman on January 16. The singer was found guilty yesterday.

Tried under his real name George O'Dowd, he had denied falsely imprisoning Audun Carlsen, 29, at his flat in April last year, the Press Association reported.

"The fact that bail is being continued does not imply that this will be dealt with by a non-custodial sentence," Judge Radford told Snaresbrook Crown Court in east London. "I don't want any false expectations created."

Mr O'Dowd told police he had invited Mr Carlsen to his home after a cocaine-fuelled pornographic photo shoot in January because he suspected the Norwegian of stealing pictures from his computer.

During the two-week trial, Mr Carlsen countered that the singer had handcuffed him to a wall and beaten him with a chain because he was angry he had refused to sleep with him when they first met.

Mr O'Dowd did not give evidence during the trial. The court heard Mr Carlsen describe how he sustained injuries during their meeting in April 2007 from being beaten and handcuffed.

Mr O'Dowd's lawyer said the injuries were consistent with bondage gear the Norwegian had worn.