Tim Westwood. Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images
Former BBC Radio 1 host Tim Westwood has been charged with four counts of rape, nine counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual assault, the BBC reports. Westwood will make his first court appearance at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on November 11.
For decades, Westwood was one of the U.K.’s most prominent hip-hop media personalities. He hosted radio programmes on BBC Radio and Capitol FM, interviewing some of rap’s most important and popular artists. In April 2022, BBC 3 broadcast a documentary entitled Tim Westwood: Abuse of Power containing allegations of sexual misconduct. Westwood denied the claims but stepped down from his hosting duties soon after.
The Sunday Times published a report in July 2022 with allegations from seventeen women against Westwood. That August, the Metropolitan Police announced an investigation into the allegations. Seven different women came forward with claims against Westwood, the Metropolitan Police said today, and described encounters spanning from 1983 and 2016.
“Our prosecutors have established that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings,” Chief Crown Prosecutor Lionel Idan said in a statement.
