‘Boy George is innocent and will fight drug charges’

BOY GEORGE is innocent and will fight the drug possession charges he faces in New York, which could result in 15 years in prison if he is convicted, his lawyer said yesterday.

The Irish-born singer, whose real name is George O’Dowd, appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court yesterday to answer charges stemming from an October incident when police, responding to his call to report a burglary, found 13 bags of cocaine in his apartment.

Dressed down in a sombre outfit of black T-shirt, black suit and black overcoat, Boy George looked tired and nervous in court, where he stood before the judge without speaking as the lawyers negotiated the adjournment.

The case was adjourned until March 8 after the singer’s lawyer, Lou Freeman, asked for more time to prepare his case.

“As strongly as possible, he maintains his innocence,” Mr Freeman told reporters after yesterday’s hearing. “He’s not guilty and he’s going to fight this all the way.”

George left the court without talking with reporters, stopping briefly to hug two female fans.

George, who made his name in the 1980s as frontman for the pop band Culture Club, was arrested on October 7.

Mr Freeman said the singer does not know where the drugs came from or who owned them and that he is a very social person who has many visitors to his home.

The felony complaint charges the singer with one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance and says the substances found weighed more than 3.5 grams.

The son of an Irish builder, George rose from supermarket shelf stocker to glitzy pop millionaire.

He became an international star in 1982 with Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? In 1995, George recounted his drug-induced fall from grace and how he had finally kicked his heroin habit in his autobiography Take It Like A Man.