Kris Wu, actor and famous K-pop artist, is sentenced to 13 years in prison for raping influencer Du Meizhu

Kris Wu, one of China’s great superstars, mostly known for being part of K-pop group EXO or his acting role in movies like ‘xXx: Reactivated’ was sentenced to 13 years in prison for raping influencer Du Meizhu when she was 17. The victim sued him in July last year, when she was 19 and he was 30, accusing her celebrity of raping her at a party at her house after forcing her to drink alcohol.

The artist had denied the facts since the first allegations, despite this his agency paid the young woman 500,000 yen, the equivalent of about 55,000 euros, so that “I was quiet”, according to statements revealed by the BBC. Although she accepted it at first, Meizhu claims that he was returning the money because he had decided to pursue legal action, since he wanted to stop him from continuing to assault more women. “I just want to prevent anyone from getting hurt again. I hope to be the last victim”she said in July, according to Variety.

After initially being arrested on rape charges in August 2021, Wu was convicted in June this year in a secret trial in the Chinese capital. looked like the artist they risk a sentence of between three and ten years, as required by a conviction for rape in China. However, in extreme cases the set limit can be exceeded and lead to life imprisonment and even the death penalty. It was also speculated at the time that the rapper, who is Chinese and Canadian, could be deported from the country.

The total sentence of 13 years is the sum of the crime of rape and another crime called ‘group debauchery’which involves engaging in sexual activity with more than three people over the age of 16 and carries a prison sentence of up to five years in China, although the latter offense is understood to be consensual, as the age of consent in the country is 14 years.

His modus operandi

Du Meizhu stated that Kris Wu had taken advantage of multiple women, including two minors, whom he had attracted through casting calls or through his fan club groups. Proof of this is that More than 24 Chinese women have taken the step after the complaint and described the sexual abuse Wu subjected them to, following a modus operandi similar to the one he practiced with Meizhu.

Wu threw a booze party, where they confiscated the guests’ phones and according to the victim they were there as well “little white pills around”. Many of them, like Meizhu herself, say they were sexually abused and assaulted while unconscious, while others say they tried to coerce them. Beyond China, a woman in the United States has joined her complaints, alleging that the singer raped her when she was unconscious. This could also open a legal process in North America, but we’ll have to wait and see if the dozens of victims get justice.