LONDON — London police mentioned on Monday they’d obtained an allegation of a sexual assault relationship again 20 years following media stories about comic and actor Russell Model.
There was no speedy remark from Model’s representatives following the police assertion.
Model, 48, has denied allegations made within the Sunday Instances newspaper and on Channel 4 TV’s documentary present “Dispatches” which reported that 4 girls had accused him of sexual assaults, together with a rape, between 2006 and 2013.
Police mentioned since these allegations had been printed and broadcast they’d obtained a report of an assault alleged to have taken place in Soho, central London, in 2003.
“Officers are involved with the lady and shall be offering her with help,” the Metropolitan Police assertion mentioned.
“We first spoke with The Sunday Instances on Saturday, 16 September and have since made additional approaches to The Sunday Instances and Channel 4 to make sure that anybody who believes they’ve been the sufferer of a sexual offence is conscious of tips on how to report this to the police.”
Model, the previous husband of US singer Katy Perry, issued a video message on social media to disclaim the “very severe prison allegations” hours earlier than they printed on Saturday.
“These allegations pertain to the time once I was working within the mainstream, once I was within the newspapers on a regular basis, once I was within the films. And as I’ve written about extensively in my books, I used to be very, very promiscuous,” Model mentioned.
“Now, throughout that point of promiscuity, the relationships I had had been completely all the time consensual,” added the comic, recognized for his flamboyant model and look who has starred in plenty of movies resembling “Get Him to the Greek.”
The Instances and Dispatches mentioned one lady had made an allegation of rape, whereas one other mentioned Model assaulted her when she was 16 and nonetheless at college. Two of the accusers had reported the incidents occurred in Los Angeles.
The stories of the allegations about Model, as soon as one of many nation’s most high-profile comedians and broadcasters who’s at the moment in the course of a stand-up tour, has dominated British media since they appeared.
The BBC, on whose radio applications he labored between 2006 and 2008, mentioned it was urgently trying into points raised by the allegations and Banijay UK, the manufacturing firm behind a tv present as soon as hosted by Model, mentioned it had too launched an pressing inner investigation.
“These are very severe and regarding allegations, and you’ll know the Met Police has requested anybody who believes they’ve been sufferer of a sexual assault to return ahead and communicate to officers,” a spokesperson for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak informed reporters. — Reuters
