Pop star Kris Wu sentenced to 13 years in prison for rape

Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Kris Wu, a Chinese-Canadian pop star, was sentenced to 13 years in Chinese prison on Friday after being found guilty of rape.

The Chaoyang district People's Court in Beijing said on social media that Wu was convicted of taking advantage of three drunken women and forcibly having sex with them at his home in 2020.

He was also found guilty of "gathering a crowd to engage in promiscuous activities," the court said.

The 13-year sentence is longer than expected.

Separately on Friday, Wu was fined approximately $83 million for tax evasion by the Beijing Municipal Tax Service of the State Taxation Administration, state media reported.

Wu was born in China and raised part of the time in Canada. He became famous as a member of the Korean pop band EXO before having a solo career as a singer, model, and actor.

However, in July 2021 a beauty influencer under the name Du Meizhu said she was sexually assaulted by Wu -- whose Chinese name is Wu Yifan -- while she was a student at the Communication University of China in Beijing. She was 17 at the time. Meizhu also said that Wu raped other women.

Following the accusations, he was dropped from sponsorships by major brands like Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, and Porsche.