Keith Urban Speaks Up on the Alleged Rape At His Concert
Keith Urban has broken his silence over the alleged rape that happened at his concert in the U.S. over the weekend. A 17-year-old girl was apparently sexually attacked while other concert-goers filmed her rape with their mobile phones.
“My team and I were horrified to learn of the events reported in Boston this past weekend and our hearts and prayers go out to all those affected,” the 46-year-old “American Idol” judge said in a statement on his Web site.
“This type of behaviour stands in stark contrast to the spirit of our shows.”
The Australian country music superstar held a show at the Xfinity Centre in Mansfield, Massachusetts on Saturday. Although the concert was deemed successful, there were dozens of fans who were taken to the hospital over alcohol-related issues.
There were also around 50 people who were arrested for the same concern.
Read: Keith Urban’s Concert Sends Dozens of Fans in Hospital Over Alcohol-Related Issues
However, alcohol hospitalisations and arrests weren’t the worst that have happened in Urban’s show.
According to the Sun Chronicle, a girl, 17, was alleged to have been raped in front of other concert-goers, who videotaped or took photos of the incident.
18-year-old Sean Murphy from Boston, who has no prior arrests, pleaded innocent to the rape of the girl in Attleboro District Court, claiming that their encounter was consensual.
He claims that he met the girl for the first time at the concert. They started kissing near a concession, and moved to a section of the lawn away from her friends. They then had sex on the lawn, and were videotaped and photographed by onlookers.
The police said that the sexual act only stopped when another woman asked the girl if she was consenting to the act and the girl answered no. The woman then pulled Murphy off the girl.
Murphy was arrested later after police sealed exits to the venue. He claimed that there was no force involved, and the girl consented to the act.
“This was a consensual act, not a sexual assault. There are no allegations of force or violence put against him,” his lawyer Neil P Crowley said in a statement obtained by the Boston Globe.
“This was a private act that regrettably occurred in a public place. Mr Murphy deeply regrets this incident and I’m sure the young woman does as well.”