UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. — A University City man who was once a standout on the show "The Voice" is now facing multiple criminal charges including rape, sodomy, harassment and domestic violence involving his wife.
St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell’s office issued seven charges against James Irwin, 40, Aug. 15 stemming from an incident that happened between April 27 and May 2.
His bail has been set at $100,000 cash only.
University City police say Irwin dragged his wife across the floor, threw her down, strangled her, forced her cell phone into her mouth, urinated on her and drove her to north St. Louis and left her alone there, according to court documents.
He forced his wife into a sex act when she was “afraid for her life,” and also raped her while punching her in the head and biting her shoulder, according to the documents.
A University City police officer investigating the case told prosecutors he believes Irwin poses a danger to the victim because he has threatened to kill her and “everyone who might come looking for her, and he has threatened to take her children,” according to the documents.
Michael Hufty entered as Irwin’s attorney three days ago and said he has not yet reviewed the evidence against his client, but said the allegations against him “seem odd.”
“It’s a little strange that he waited until he was 40 years old to start abusing his wife out of nowhere,” Hufty said. “He has no criminal record.
“Allegedly this happened in April or May and the county prosecutor didn’t charge it until August. I don’t know what’s up with the delay in reporting. These allegations are odd to me.”
The first time Irwin appeared on the popular singing competition show "The Voice" in 2013, none of the four judges turned their chairs to indicate they wanted to work with him. He returned the following season and sang R.E.M’s “Losing My Religion”. All four judges, including Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton turned their chairs around wanting him to be on their team.
Irwin joined Levine’s team and was eliminated in the knockout rounds after performing “Break Even” by the Script, according to the newspaper.
During his time on the show, producers featured a segment in which Irwin talked about his twin daughters who died minutes after being born. He also talked about how his wife then gave birth to their son, who was 1 year old when he appeared on the show, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
Irwin had also performed with the band Upright Animals, which performed at Blueberry Hill, The Pageant, Cicero’s and Pop’s and once opened for Chuck Berry, according to the newspaper.