Chris Brown Released After Rape Accusation in Paris

On Tuesday, January 22, R&B singer Chris Brown was released with no charges being filed after being detained on rape accusations in Paris.

Paris police questioned Brown, 29, after taking him into custody on Monday on charges of aggravated rape and drug infractions. After he was released, Brown took to Instagram and said in a message that the accusations were false. 

An investigation was opened after a woman in her 20s went to the Paris police and filed a complaint accusing Brown of raping her in his hotel room on the night of January 15. After meeting the singer in a nightclub, he allegedly invited her and several other women to his hotel room at The Mandarin Oriental.

The woman told police that she was alone in the hotel room when Brown, his friend, and his bodyguard raped her.  The Paris prosecutor’s office announced that two other people involved had been questioned and released with no charges by police, but did not disclose their identities or relation to the singer.

RCA — the record company that used to represent R. Kelly  —  signed a new deal with Brown earlier this month. They offered no comment on the situation. 

In July, Brown was arrested for punching a photographer in April 2017 at a nightclub in Tampa, Florida. In May, he was sued by a woman who said that he held her against her will in his Los Angeles home while his friend raped her last year. In 2016, he was arrested on an assault charge with a deadly weapon at a standoff at his home. In 2009, he pleaded guilty to assaulting Rihanna. 

Despite his pattern of bad behavior, Brown has a fervent fan base and remains one of the most successful R&B singers of his time, including winning several Grammies. According to the Paris Prosecutor’s office, the investigation is ongoing despite Brown not being charged.