Russell Brand charged with rape and sexual assault offences in UK

On 4 April 2025, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the public body that decides prosecutions in England and Wales, authorised charges against the comedian and actor Russell Brand. The charges included rape, indecent assault and sexual assault. They related to allegations made by several women, and the alleged offences were said to have taken place between 1999 and 2005, when Brand was a rising star in British radio, television and film.

The case followed a joint investigation published in September 2023 by The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4's Dispatches programme. It reported accusations from women who said Brand had abused them at the height of his fame. Brand denied the allegations. The Metropolitan Police, London's police force, opened its own inquiry after the reports and passed a file to the CPS.

The charging decision mattered because it moved the allegations from media reporting into the criminal courts. Brand, who by then had built a large online following as a commentator and had moved to the United States, was due to answer the charges in court. The case became one of the most closely watched prosecutions of a British celebrity in recent years, and Brand continued to deny wrongdoing.