Brown, 29, was in custody over suspicions of aggravated rape and drug-related infractions, according to a spokesman for the French judiciary, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with department policy. The official did not provide more details about the accusations.
According to the celebrity news magazine Closer, which first reported Brown’s detention, his arrest Monday morning came after a 24-year-old woman filed a complaint against him. The woman, who was not identified, accused Brown of raping her in a Paris hotel room last week, the magazine said.
The woman told the police that she met the R&B; singer Jan. 15 at a nightclub near the Champs-Élysées, and that later that evening, he invited her and several other women to the upscale Mandarin Oriental hotel, where he was staying, Closer reported.
According to the magazine, the woman told police that she then found herself alone in one of the hotel’s rooms, where she said Brown raped her. She also accused a friend of the singer and his bodyguard of raping her.
The French judicial official confirmed that two other people were also being questioned by police in relation to the case, but he did not identify them or explain their connection to Brown, who has been attending shows in the city for Paris Men’s Fashion Week.
A representative for Brown in the United States said he did not have enough information on the situation to comment.
Brown’s record company, RCA, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last week RCA dropped another of its R&B; stars, R. Kelly, after protests that followed the airing of the television documentary “Surviving R. Kelly.” In the documentary, women said that Kelly had lured them into sexual relationships when they were underage and had abused them mentally and physically.
Under French law, suspects being questioned by the police can be kept in custody for up to 24 hours, although prosecutors can extend the duration of their detention. Brown could be released without charges, or charged and placed under formal investigation.
Brown has been involved in a string of violent episodes over the past few years. In July, he was arrested in connection with a nightclub dispute from April 2017, when he was accused of punching a photographer in Tampa, Florida. In May, a woman sued him, saying he held her against her will at his Los Angeles house last year while a friend of his raped her. He was arrested in 2016 on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon after a standoff at his home.
In 2009, he pleaded guilty to one count of felony assault on his girlfriend at the time, singer Rihanna.
Despite his legal troubles, Brown has remained popular with an ardent fan base. He has won several industry prizes, including the 2012 Grammy for best R&B; album for “F.A.M.E.,” and he performed at that year’s Grammy ceremony. His most recent album, “Heartbreak on a Full Moon,” opened at No. 3 on the Billboard album chart in late 2017.
In 2010, according to the BBC, Brown was forced to postpone a British tour after he was denied a visa to enter the country because of the assault conviction involving Rihanna. In 2015, he was forced to cancel the Australian and New Zealand leg of his “One Hell of a Nite” tour for the same reason.
Earlier that year, he was barred from leaving the Philippines for three days because of a fraud complaint stemming from a 2014 New Year’s Eve concert in that country.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.