Boy George found guilty of false imprisonment

The court docket brings news of two boys - one imaginary, one more than a little unreal.

Boy George, the flamboyant former Culture Club front man, was convicted yesterday of falsely imprisoning Norwegian escort Audun Carlsen, who had alleged he was handcuffed to a wall hook at the singer's east London apartment on April 28, 2007. Prosecutors said Carlsen was held by the singer - whose real name is George O'Dowd - for under an hour.

Carlsen, 29, said O'Dowd swung a metal chain at him when he got loose and fled the apartment following a naked photo shoot.

O'Dowd, who is 46, admitted he restrained Carlsen with handcuffs while trying to figure out if Carlsen had tampered with a computer.

The iconic '80s singer was released on bail following the verdict. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 16. False imprisonment carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. The judge warned O'Dowd that some jail time was probable.

series to be released

A "Harry Potter" fan and Web site operator said yesterday he's going ahead with publishing an encyclopedia after losing a lawsuit against the author of the massively popular book series.

Steven Vander Ark said at a news conference at a southwestern Michigan bookstore that Muskegon-based RDR Books will publish his "Harry Potter Lexicon" on Jan. 12. It is a 400-page unauthorized guide to the seven novels written by J.K. Rowling, and is a print version of the online encyclopedia that Vander Ark launched in 2000. A federal judge in New York ruled in favor of Rowling in September, permanently blocking publication of the reference guide. *