Yahoo Sports Chinese-Canadian Singer Kris Wu Sentenced to 13 Years for Raping Multiple Women: Reports
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Kris Wu, a Canadian-Chinese singer, received 13 years in prison for sexually assaulting multiple women in his home.
Wu, whose real name is Wu Yi Fan, was sentenced in Beijing's Chaoyang District People's Court on Friday, according to Jingfa Net Affairs on Chinese social media platform Weibo. He will also be deported after serving his sentence in China, TIME reported.
The outlet added that authorities determined after Wu's trial that from November 2020 to the following December, he "took advantage" of "three drunken women who did not know how to resist or could not resist, and forcibly had sex with them in his residence."
His conduct dates back to July 1, 2018, when he and others, who were not identified, "organized two other women to engage in promiscuous activities after drinking," the court added, per Jingfa Net Affairs.
Wu was first publicly accused of sexual assault by a woman named Du Meizhu, according to The New York Times. The college student, now 18, alleged that he lured her to his house by claiming that they could talk about her career. She said she thought there were other victims whom he got drunk at his home and pushed to have intercourse with him.
Local police initially suggested she exaggerated "to enhance her online popularity." This sparked victim-shaming claims against authorities, causing Meizhu's supporters to defend her, per the outlet.
According to TIME, Wu, who was raised in the Chinese city of Guangzhou and Vancouver, British Columbia, has been in jail since August 2021 after authorities investigated online claims that he "repeatedly lured young women," per a previous local police statement.
Since his arrest, several brands like Louis Vuitton, Porsche and Bulgari, parted ways with him after he served as an ambassador, Reuters reported.
Along with his prison sentence, Wu will have to pay 600 million yuan ($83.77 million) after he concealed his personal income and committed other tax crimes in 2019 and 2020, per Reuters.
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Following Wu's sentencing, Meizhu reacted to the news on Weibo.
"I am very grateful for China's legal system, no criminal will be spared, even if he is a big star," she wrote in part. "Because I have been exposed to rain, I also want to hold an umbrella for others."
She continued, "I am very grateful to everyone for their support and psychological help in the past two years. Girls help girls. In the future, I will use my influence to help more people in need, and I will also try my best to make some contributions to my hometown."
During his career, Wu was a member of K-pop group EXO before heading to China in 2014 to go solo, according to Reuters.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
