Detectives investigating historic allegations of sexual assault against Russell Brand have asked prosecutors to consider bringing charges against the actor and comedian.
It follows a joint investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches and the Sunday Times, published in September 2023, in which four women accused Brand of offences including rape, sexual assault, and emotional abuse.
The allegations date back to between 2006 and 2013, when the 49-year-old was at the height of his fame.
He has denied any wrongdoing and insisted his sexual relationships have been “absolutely always consensual”.
Following the initial media reports, the Metropolitan police confirmed it had “received a number of allegations of sexual offences in London” and elsewhere in the country.
Yesterday it said “a man in his 40s had been interviewed by officers under caution on three separate occasions”.
“A file of evidence has now been passed to the Crown Prosecution Service for their consideration,” it said.
At the time of the alleged offences, Brand was working as a presenter on BBC Radio 2 and Channel 4 and as an actor in Hollywood, appearing in films including Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
One woman told Dispatches that Brand entered a relationship with her when he was 31 and she was 16.
She alleged that the relationship, which lasted three months, was emotionally abusive and controlling and that Brand would refer to her as “the child”. Another woman alleged Brand raped her in 2012 in his Los Angeles home, adding that she received treatment at a rape crisis centre the same day, the Sunday Times reported.
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The paper said she then messaged him to say she had been scared and felt taken advantage of, adding: “When a girl say[s] NO it means no.” Brand reportedly replied saying he was “very sorry”.
A third woman said Brand sexually assaulted her while she worked with him in Los Angeles and that he threatened to taken legal action against her if she told anyone, according to the paper.
A fourth woman said she had also been sexually assaulted by Brand and that he had been “physically and emotionally abusive” towards her, the Sunday Times said.
The paper said the women it had spoken to did not know each other and had mostly chosen to remain anonymous.
Following the allegations, the BBC and Channel 4 removed material featuring Brand from their websites, while YouTube stopped him making money from videos posted on his channel.