Police Ask U.K. Prosecutors to Consider Charging Russell Brand Over Sexual Assault Allegations
Detectives investigating sexual assault allegations against Russell Brand have asked prosecutors to consider bringing charges against the former comedian.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed it had received “a number of allegations of sexual offenses in London” and elsewhere in the U.K. following a joint investigation into Brand by Channel 4’s Dispatches, The Times and The Sunday Times in September 2023. The program aired extensive allegations including ones of rape and sexual assault against Brand.
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The Briton has denied all claims made against him, which date between 2006 and 2013 when the 49-year-old was at the height of his fame working on Big Brother’s Big Mouth, Kings of Comedy and Big Brother’s Celebrity Hijack. A Banijay U.K.-commissioned investigation later found informal complaints concerning Brand were made over 20 years ago on set.
On Wednesday, the Met Police confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that a file of evidence has been passed to the U.K.’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for their consideration.
“As part of the investigation, a man in his 40s has been interviewed by officers under caution on three separate occasions,” their statement said. These interviews related to a number of non-recent sexual offenses alleged to have taken place inside and outside of London.
Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, whose team is leading the investigation, said: “Our investigation continues and a file has now been passed to the CPS. We have a team of dedicated officers providing specialist support to the women who have come forward. We are committed to investigating sexual offenses, no matter how long ago they are alleged to have taken place.”
One of the women told Dispatches that Brand entered a relationship with her when he was 31 and she was 16. Their relationship lasted three months, she had said, and Brand had been “emotionally abusive and controlling”. Another claimed that Brand raped her in 2012 in his L.A. home, according to the Sunday Times.
Following the Dispatches investigation, the BBC swiftly removed programming featuring Brand from its streaming services iPlayer and BBC Sounds, saying it “assessed that it now falls below public expectations.” Channel 4 did the same, while YouTube barred him from making money on videos posted to the site.
Brand has attended three police interviews, two in late 2023 and one in January 2024. He was recently baptized and now devotes much of his platform to his new-found Christian faith.
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