A former singer for Spandau Ballet sobbed in court as he was accused of perpetrating a series of sex assaults.
Between 2013 and 2018, Ross William Wild, 34, is accused of committing 17 offenses, including rape and sexual assault, at his north London residence, a Shrewsbury hotel, and Cannes, France.
The Scottish musician is charged with raping a lady, extorting money from her, and revealing a sexually explicit image of her.
Additionally, he is suspected of video himself sexually assaulting six other women as they slept.
Wild, who took over for Tony Hadley as the lead vocalist of the 1980s band in 2018, was detained at his parents’ Aberdeen residence yesterday after prosecutors authorized police to file charges against him earlier this week.
As he appeared before Carlisle Magistrates’ Court, the singer was dressed in a simple black T-shirt with his black hair pulled to one side.
He sobbed when his attorney Chris Toms informed the court that he was a professional musician.
Mr. Toms did not enter a formal defense on behalf of wild, but he did state: “That is firmly disputed.” He demands a court date.
The 34-year-old is kept in custody pending his June 22 appearance at London’s Wood Green Crown Court.
A cell phone that was purportedly holding “harrowing photographs” of women being abused while they were sleeping was recovered in 2019, sparking the start of an inquiry into Wild.
Between October 2013 and December 2017, four of the alleged sex attacks are believed to have occurred at Wild’s Finchley house.
Another allegedly happened in June 2017 at a hotel near Shrewsbury.
According to reports, the most recent incident took place in Cannes in May 2018 while Wild was there for the film festival.
According to The Sun, Wild is accused of committing these alleged offenses on six charges of voyeurism and six counts of sexual assault.
He is also charged with raping a woman between August 1 and October 1, 2013, extorting the same complainant in November 2017, and damaging her property illegally.
Wild is accused of intentionally upsetting the same woman in October 2017 by leaking a private sexual photo of her.
His possession of an extreme pornographic photograph depicting an extramarital sex act is his remaining charge.