American singer Chris Brown has been detained in Paris on suspicion of rape, judicial sources confirmed to CBS News on Tuesday. Police sources told The Associated Press and Reuters that the singer was detained with two other people and remained in custody in Paris after a woman filed a rape complaint.
One police official told the AP that the complaint was filed with police in the 17th arrondissement of northwest Paris. The official said one of the others detained was Brown’s bodyguard. Brown was detained Monday and was still in custody Tuesday while police study the complaint.
In addition to the allegation of aggravated rape, Brown is also facing possible charges for drug related offenses, the judicial sources told CBS News on Tuesday.
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.
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 his then-girlfriend, Rihanna, ahead of the Grammys. 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.
