Chris Brown released after Paris rape complaint; singer denies allegation
American singer Chris Brown was released after being detained in Paris over allegations of aggravated rape and drug offenses, judicial sources confirmed to CBS News on Tuesday. The sources said Brown and two others were released from custody, and the public prosecutor will continue investigating the complaints, which Brown denies.
Brown denied the incident in an Instagram post Tuesday afternoon: "WANNA MAKE IT PERFECTLY CLEAR...... THIS IS FALSE AND A WHOLE LOT OF CAP! NNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEERRRRRR!!!!!! FOR MY DAUGHTER AND MY FAMILY THIS IS SO (DISRESPECTFUL) AND IS AGAINST MY CHARACTER AND MORALS!!!!!"
The arrest was first reported by Closer magazine, which has said a 24-year-old woman claims she was raped at Brown's hotel suite on January 15. Brown has been spotted over the last week in Paris attending events around Paris Fashion Week.
The woman who filed the complaint said she met Brown and his friends at the Le Crystal nightclub and then went back to his room at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, the police source told The Associated Press. One of Brown's bodyguards was among those detained, the source said.
Brown's publicists at Sony Music would not immediately comment.
The American recording artist has a history of violence, including a felony conviction for the 2009 assault on Rihanna, his girlfriend at the time. He completed his probation in that case in 2015.
Brown was arrested in July of 2018 after a concert in Florida on an outstanding warrant for felony battery. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office confirmed that he was booked on the charge and then released on $2,000 bond.
In 2016, he was arrested at his home north of Los Angeles for an alleged assault with a deadly weapon, after a woman — later identified as former beauty queen Baylee Curran — called 911 from outside the house requesting help. He was released on $250,000 bail.
In 2013, Brown struck a man outside a Washington, D.C., hotel and was charged with misdemeanor assault. The singer was ordered into rehab but was dismissed from the facility for violating its rules. Brown spent 2½ months in custody, with U.S. marshals shuttling him between Los Angeles and the nation's capital for court hearings.
In another incident while in treatment, Brown was accused of throwing a brick at his mother's car following a counseling session. It came after Brown completed court-ordered anger management classes.