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Artist News Legal
Death metal band Decapitated charged with kidnap and rape
By Andy Malt | Published on Wednesday 13 September 2017
Polish death metal band Decapitated are being held in custody in the US on charges of kidnapping and rape. All four members of the band are accused of assaulting a woman on their tour bus after a show in Spokane, Washington.
According to court documents released on Monday, reports The Spokesman-Review, two women say that they met the band following their performance on 31 Aug and were invited back to the outfit’s tour bus for drinks.
The court report states that one of the women “described being excited to be on the bus” but that “then one of the band members began grabbing her breasts … [She] was uncomfortable and said the band members began speaking to each other in Polish. She described [how] the ‘vibe’ in the bus changed, and one of the members began looking at them like they were prey”.
The woman said that she looked at her friend “to signal they needed to get out of there” and then went to use the toilet. She alleges she was followed by vocalist Rafal Piotrowski, who began kissing her and attempting to remove her clothes. When she resisted, she says, he restrained her and then he and the other members of the band took turns to rape her.
Meanwhile, the other woman says that she “was pushed to the ground” when she refused to perform oral sex on Piotrowski. At some point she managed to leave the bus and was later pulled over by police on suspicion of drink driving. Officers allowed her to call her friend, who then reported the alleged crime. She was later found around two miles from the venue where the band had been performing. It was noted that she had “significant bruising to her upper arms consistent with being restrained”.
Police attempted to locate the band, but they had already left the area for their next show. They were arrested in California on Saturday on charges of first degree kidnapping, with the rape charges added later. Prosecutors have said that there may yet be more charges applied.
When questioned by police, drummer Michal Lysejko denied recognising either woman. However, the other three confirmed that the women had been on their tour bus, with lead guitarist Waclaw Kieltyka saying that he had seen Piotrowski and bassist Hubert Wiecek engaged in sex acts with the woman allegedly raped.
Currently the band are awaiting transfer from California back to Washington. A Spokane-based attorney representing the band, Stephen Graham, said that they would not oppose moves to return them to the city, adding: “Decapitated plan to fully fight the allegations that are brought against them, and we are fully confident that the other side of this story will be heard”.
Decapitated made headlines last year when they crowdfunded legal action against their former label, Earache.
