Artist News Legal

Decapitated members appear in court on rape and kidnapping charges

By | Published on Tuesday 17 October 2017

Decapitated

The four members of death metal band Decapitated have been formally charged with rape and kidnapping. Two members of the band had their first court appearances last Friday, with the other two scheduled to appear later this week.

As previously reported, the Polish band were arrested in LA last month, accused of raping a woman on their tour bus following a performance in Spokane, Washington on 31 Aug.

Two women said that they were invited back to the band’s bus after the show, but that once on board the “vibe” changed. One woman managed to get off the bus, while the other says that she was raped by all four members of the band. The band deny the charges against them.

The band were extradited back to Washington state earlier this month and formally charged with varying degrees of rape last week. They had already been charged with first-degree kidnapping.

According to the Spokesman-Review, lead guitarist Waclaw Kieltyka and drummer Michal Lysejko appeared in court on Friday, their first appearance on respective charges of second-degree rape and third-degree rape, as well kidnapping. Speaking through a translator, the judge placed them on $100,000 bail and ordered them to surrender their passports.

Vocalist Rafal Piotrowski, charged with second-degree rape, and bassist Hubert Wiecek, charged with third-degree rape, are scheduled to appear in court this Thursday. The judge ordered that there be no communication between the four band members.

In a statement on Friday, the band argued that their charges were merely a formality required to keep them in custody, saying: “The Spokane Police Department has pressed charges as procedural formality, without doing so, they would be forced to release band – this is not a conviction or any indication of guilt or innocence. Once again, we ask that everyone wait for each party’s case to be presented and await the court’s decision”.

When initially arrested, three members of the band confirmed that the women had been on board their bus – while Lysejko said that he did not recognise them. Kieltyka told police that he saw both Piotrowski and Wiecek engaged in sexual activity with the woman who accuses them of rape. Wiecek said that he had been sat on a sofa and did not see what happened.



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