London, UK - London's Metropolitan Police on Friday said it had charged comedian and actor Russell Brand with rape and a number of other sexual offenses.

Brand, who became known internationally as the former husband of pop star Katy Perry after forging a career as a stand-up comedian with risqué routines, was charged with one count of rape, as well as indecent assault, and oral rape, as well as two counts of sexual assault, the force said.

The charges relate to offenses alleged to have taken place between 1999 and 2005 involving four women.

"We have today authorized the Metropolitan Police to charge Russell Brand with a number of sexual offenses," said Jaswant Narwal of the Crown Prosecution Service.

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"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."

Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy from the Metropolitan Police said the investigation remained open.

He urged "anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police".

Brand is charged with the rape of a woman in 1999 in the Bournemouth area on England's south coast and the oral rape and sexual assault of a woman in 2004 in the central Westminster area of London.

He has also been charged with indecently assaulting a woman in 2001 and sexually assaulting another woman between 2004 and 2005 – both alleged to have taken place in Westminster.

The Press Association news agency said Brand, who is understood to be living in the US, was charged by mail.

Brand, born in 1975 to working-class parents in Essex, east of London, began his stand-up career as a teenager.

He burst onto the scene as a provocative comedian before transforming into a Hollywood star then anti-establishment guru and still boasts millions of online fans.

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He has more than six million subscribers on YouTube, 11.2 million on X, 3.8 million on Instagram, and 1.4 million on the Rumble platform, popular with conspiracy theorists.

He hosted a show on the BBC's Radio 2 station between 2006 and 2008, but left after an on-air prank when he left a sexually explicit voicemail for Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs about his granddaughter.

He also hosted a Big Brother spin-off show for several years, wrote columns for the left-wing Guardian newspaper, and penned two autobiographies.

He was married to US pop singer Katy Perry from 2010 to 2012.

Brand will appear before magistrates in Westminster on May 2.