UK police have charged British comedian and actor Russell Brand with rape and other sexual offenses against four women. He was charged with one count of rape, one count of indecent assault, one count of oral rape, and two counts of sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
The police also stated Brand will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London early next month. His current whereabouts were not specified but were described as him living somewhere in Southern England. A Met spokesperson told CNN a written charge and requisition has been issued.
Brand has previously denied the allegations. Police began investigating Brand in 2023 after receiving allegations after three British media outlets, The Sunday Times, The Times, and Channel 4’s “Dispatches” conducted a joint investigation on the comedian, who has rebranded himself as a social commentator.
Police say it is alleged that one woman was raped in 1999; another was indecently assaulted in 2001; a woman was orally raped and sexually assaulted in 2004; and a woman was sexually assaulted between 2004-2005.
“We carefully reviewed the evidence after a police investigation into allegations made following the broadcast of a Channel 4 documentary in September 2023. We have concluded that Russell Brand should be charged with offenses including rape, sexual assault and indecent assault,” said Jaswant Narwal of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in a CPS press release.
Brand responded to the news by sharing a post on X, once again denying the allegations. “I was a drug addict, a sex addict and an imbecile, but what I never was, was a rapist. I’ve never engaged in non-consensual activity, and I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes,” he added, thanking people for sending messages of support.
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