An Oscar-winning songwriter who touted his Hollywood connections to lure aspiring actresses and models to his apartment, has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on sexual assault charges.
Joseph Brooks, who won an Academy Award for the '70s Debbie Boone ballad "You Light Up My Life," is expected to turn himself in to authorities Tuesday morning, law enforcement sources said.
The 70-year-old movie director- who made his money writing jingles for Pepsi and Geritol - is a suspect in two rapes, a sodomy case and two sexual assaults, sources told the Daily News.
Brooks allegedly seduced the women through Craigslist web postings and lured them to his upper East Side apartment with with promises of parts in his next movie, sources said.
He purportedly boasted about his Oscar and offered to show it to them at his pad.
Two of the victims said they had been doped with date-rape drugs, sources said. Others believe their drinks were spiked. Toxicology results have been inconclusive.
When allegations surfaced in January, Brooks declined to comment. He could not be reached for comment early Tuesday.
The first of the alleged assaults occurred in November 2006, and involved a 22-year-old woman who said she was sexually abused at the Carlyle Hotel.
Another assault allegedly took place in Brooks' apartment in May 2007. Three more took place over a two-week stretch near Brooks' 70th birthday in March 2008, law enforcement sources said.
Brooks wrote, directed and bankrolled the 1977 romance flick "You Light Up My Life," and penned the title track. The song reached No. 1 on the pop charts
He also composed music for the film "The Lords of Flatbush" and co-produced "Eddie and the Cruisers."
Brooks turned to movie-making after a successful career writing jingles, including a 1970s Pepsi Generation campaign with the lyrics, "You got a lot to live and Pepsi's got a lot to give, yeah Pepsi's got a lot to give."
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