Comedian Russell Brand has been charged with rape and sexual assault, authorities in London announced Friday.

Metropolitan Police said in a statement that Brand, 49, has been charged in connection with five offenses involving four women between 1999 and 2005. They include one count of rape; one count of indecent assault; one count of oral rape; and two counts of sexual assault, the statement said.

Detectives began investigating the case in September 2023 after "receiving a number of allegations" following reporting by Channel 4 and the Times of London.

According to police, the allegations against Brand include:

• A woman who alleged she was raped in the Bournemouth area in 1999.

• A woman who alleged she was indecently assaulted in the Westminster area of London in 2001.

• A woman who alleged she was orally raped and sexually assaulted in the Westminster area in 2004.

• A woman who alleged she was sexually assaulted in the Westminster area between 2004 and 2005.

The accusers were not identified.

"The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers,” Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy said in a statement. "The Met's investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”

Brand is scheduled to appear in court on May 2, but according to the BBC, he is “believed to be in the United States."

How we got here

In September 2023, the Times of London and Channel 4 published a joint investigation, including a 90-minute documentary in which four women alleged that Brand sexually assaulted or raped them between 2006 and 2013.

One woman said she was only 16 when she engaged in an "emotionally and sexually abusive relationship" with Brand, who was in his 30s. She described a situation where he caused her to choke when he "forced his penis down her throat." Another woman said Brand raped her at his Los Angeles home in 2012.

Brand denied those allegations, saying that he was “very, very promiscuous” but that his relationships were “absolutely, always consensual.”

After the documentary aired, the comedian’s talent agency subsequently cut ties with him, his tour was suspended and London police called for potential victims of Brand to come forward.

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