Comedian Russell Brand has been charged with rape and sexual assault, authorities in London announced Friday.
Metropolitan Police said in a statement that Brand has been charged in connection with five offenses involving four women between 1999 and 2005.
They include one count of rape; one count of indecent assault; one count of oral rape; and two counts of sexual assault, the statement said.
Detectives began investigating the case in September 2023 after “receiving a number of allegations” following reporting by Channel 4’s Dispatches and the Sunday Times.
According to police, the allegations against Brand include:
A woman who alleged she was raped in the Bournemouth area in 1999.
A woman who alleged she was indecently assaulted in the Westminster area of London in 2001.
A woman who alleged she was orally raped and sexually assaulted in the Westminster area in 2004.
A woman who alleged she was sexually assaulted in the Westminster area between 2004 and 2005.
“The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers,” Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy said in a statement. “The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”
Brand is scheduled to appear in court on May 2, but according to the BBC, he is “believed to be in the United States.”
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