USA: Judge threatens Boy George with jailtime if he doesn't complete his community service

Record ID: 191246

  • Title: USA: Judge threatens Boy George with jailtime if he doesn't complete his community service
  • Date: 27th June 2006
  • Summary: (BN12) NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (JUNE 26, 2006) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF NEW YORK CRIMINAL COURTS BUILDING
  • Embargoed: 12th July 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz
  • Reuters ID: LVA9YEWGHHRVFG8B1MP2HDX2TTF3
  • Story Text: Singer Boy George was threatened with jail by a New York judge on Monday (June 26) for failing to complete a community service requirement because he wanted to do something less humiliating than raking leaves.
    Criminal Court Judge Anthony Ferrara gave George until August 28 to complete the five days of community service, which was imposed in March when he admitted to falsely reporting a burglary, escaping more serious charges of drug possession.
    Defense lawyer Louis Freeman had argued in court earlier this month that the singer, whose real name is George O'Dowd, was hoping to avoid the humiliation of dragging a rake around a city park and wanted to work with an AIDS charity.
    Ferrara appeared angry and insisted that George, who did not speak during the court appearance, would be treated the same as any other offender.
    He went on to tell O'Dowd that it was up to the singer to make his community service an exercise in humiliation or an exercise in humility.
    He added that if George does not complete his community service by August 28, he would be jailed.
    The charges against George, who made his name as the cross-dressing front man for the 1980s chart-topping British pop band Culture Club, resulted from an October 7 incident when police responded to his call reporting a burglary and found 13 bags of cocaine in his apartment.
    If convicted on the drug charges, the singer could have been sentenced to 15 years in prison. Instead, was ordered to attend a drug rehabilitation program and was fined $1,000, which he has paid.
    George rose from supermarket shelf stocker to international pop star in 1982 with the song "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?," which topped the charts in 18 countries. Culture Club went on to sell almost 20 million albums.
    In 1995, he recounted his drug-induced fall from grace and how he had finally kicked his heroin habit in the autobiography "Take It Like a Man." Later, he made a new career as a disc jockey and record producer.
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