Australian actor Craig McLachlan has been charged with assault and indecent assault by Victoria Police.
The 53-year-old is known for his roles in long-running soaps Neighbours and Home and Away, and more recently in the hit ABC TV show The Doctor Blake Mysteries.
Victoria Police said in a statement that a New South Wales man had been charged with one count of common law assault, eight counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted indecent assault.
McLachlan has been summonsed to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Feb. 8, 2019.
In January 2018, the Sydney Morning Herald and the ABC published claims from female actors who worked with McLachlan in the Rocky Horror Show musical in 2014 and alleged he had behaved inappropriately towards them.
McLachlan denied the allegations and subsequently launched defamation proceedings against the media outlets and actor Christie Whelan Browne.
The defamation trial is scheduled to begin on Feb. 4 in the New South Wales Supreme Court.