A vocalist from a famous 1980s band was caught smirking when arrested on horrific sex crime charges, sparking controversy.
Ross Davidson, formerly the vocalist of the band Spandau Ballet (stage name Ross Wilde), was seen with an apparent smirk when he was arrested in 2021 on charges of sexually assaulting and raping multiple women. The foreign outlet Page Six reported on the 30th (local time) that new bodycam footage was released at last Thursday's trial, causing an uproar.
According to reports, Davidson was convicted of having sexual relations with a total of six women between August 2013 and December 2019, including when some victims were asleep. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison last Thursday and smiled and shook his head while police read out the list of charges.
At the time of Davidson's arrest, police listed charges including rape and illegal filming (voyeurism) for three crimes that occurred in 2019, as well as allegations of filming without the victims' consent. He was found guilty in July 2024 of sexual assault and related charges involving multiple victims.
He was also back in court in January last year and was convicted of raping a woman in London in March 2015 and of sexually assaulting another victim in Thailand in February 2019.
Davidson denied the charges brought against him in court, saying, "I have never raped, sexually assaulted or coerced any woman at any time in my life."
Davidson performed under the stage name Ross Wilde. He joined Spandau Ballet, a British band that rose to fame in the 1980s, in 2018 to replace founding member Tony Hadley. He also appeared in the West End musical "We Will Rock You."
Judge John Dodd KC said of Davidson's offenses, "From 2013 to 2019, over six years, at a time when your stage and music career was rapidly progressing and you appeared to many as a charismatic figure, you were acting towards women in a thoroughly degrading way."
One victim said, "By refusing to admit his crimes, I have been retraumatized. His cowardice is utterly repulsive."
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