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US rapper Gibbs bailed in Austria sex abuse case

The Local Austria
The Local Austria - [email protected]
US rapper Gibbs bailed in Austria sex abuse case
Freddie Gibbs, aka Fredrick Tipton. Photo: SwaGibbs/Wikimedia

US rapper Freddie Gibbs, who is charged with the sexual abuse of a female fan in Austria, was released on bail from a Vienna prison on Thursday, court officials said.

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The 34-year-old from Gary, Indiana, left the Wien-Josefstadt jail after paying 50,000 euros ($57,000) and surrendering his passport, court spokeswoman Christina Salzborn said.

He has been barred from leaving the country while the case is still open, she said.

Gibbs, whose real name is Fredrick Tipton, was extradited in late July from France where police arrested him on a European arrest warrant shortly before a planned gig in the southwestern city of Toulouse.

The American is accused of drugging two girls -- aged 16 and 17 at the time -- after a concert in Vienna on July 6, 2015, and taking them back to his hotel where he is said to have abused one of the women.

Gibbs has denied the claims.

One of his bodyguards allegedly also forced himself upon both women. But Austrian authorities have been unable to question the man because he has returned to the US.

On Wednesday, prosecutors charged Gibbs with "sexual abuse of a defenceless or psychologically impaired person".

"There is no objective evidence that Freddie Gibbs even had sex with this woman," his lawyer in Vienna Thomas Kralik told APA, the Austrian news agency.

Gibbs faces up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.

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