Lady Leshurr says her career is ruined following assault case

Lady Leshurr had denied two counts of assault

Lady Leshurr has said her "career has been ruined" after she was found not guilty of assault.

The rapper, whose real name is Melesha O'Garro, had been accused of assaulting her ex-girlfriend Sidnee Hussein and Ms Hussein's then partner, Chante Boyea.

A jury found the 35-year-old not guilty of two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Following the judgement, Ms O'Garro said she had been dropped from deals and not received any income for a year.

The former Dancing On Ice contestant had told her trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court that Ms Boyea, a security officer, had attacked her first and used her Belgian Malinois dog Toby as a "weapon" during the incident in Walthamstow, north-east London, on 22 October 2022.

Writing on the social media website Instagram, Ms O'Garro said: "For the past year I've been battling a court case from people that accused me of stalking, harassing, and biting them but I was the victim.

"I was attacked and bitten by a dog and made out to be the aggressor."

She added she had been left with "no income" and that her career had been ruined "regardless of the outcome".

The court had heard how the defendants flagged down Ms Boyea's car at about 05:00 BST as she was driving to work along Knotts Green Road in Walthamstow.

Ms Boyea, who was training to become a dog handler at the time, told jurors that after she stopped, Ms O'Garro "bit down on my hand and from that point on she didn't let go".

She said she had suffered nerve damage to her left hand as a result of the attack and could no longer hold a dog lead securely.

"I will never be able to continue in that line of work again," she told the court.

However, Ronnie Bergenthal, for Ms O'Garro, told jurors that doctors' notes did not specify that she had suffered nerve damage in references to her left hand being injured.

The defence lawyer claimed Ms Boyea had also used her security dog in the boot of the car "as a weapon on Ms O'Garro", adding: "You were directing that dog to bite Ms O'Garro."

Ms Boyea denied this, and said: "At no point did I throw punches or attack her or release the dog from the boot."

Sherelle Smith, from Yardley, Birmingham, who had been accused of assaulting Sidnee Hussein after she tried to help Ms Boyea was also found not guilty.

Lady Leshurr, from Kingshurst, Solihull, previously hosted a weekly show on Saturdays on BBC Radio 1Xtra.

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