Neighbours actor Craig McLachlan charged with assault and sex offences

NEIGHBOURS star Craig McLachlan has been charged with assault and sex offences in Australia.

The 53-year-old faces 10 counts including indecent assault, police in Victoria announced this morning.

McLachlan is best known for playing Henry Ramsay during the soap’s 80s heyday – alongside Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue.

He faces one count of common law assault, eight counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted indecent assault.

The actor will appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on February 8.

The charges come after McLachlan was accused of sexual harassment by several actresses during his career.

Three actresses from the 2014 Australian production of The Rocky Horror Show – in which McLachlan played Frank-N-Furter – claimed they were abused or assaulted by him.

Denying the accusations at the time, McLachlan said: “Frankly, they seem to be simple inventions, perhaps made for financial reasons, perhaps to gain notoriety.

“In either event, they are to the best of my knowledge utterly and entirely false.”

McLachlan later left the stage production in 2018.

It is not clear if the charges relate to the allegations made against him by the Rocky Horror Show actresses.

A Victoria Police statement today said: “Melbourne Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team have charged a 53-year-old NSW man on one count of common law assault, eight counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted indecent assault.

“He was charged on summons to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 8 February 2019.”

McLachlan also had a brief career as a singer – reaching number two in the UK singles charts with his 1990 song Mona.

And he starred in Aussie soap Home And Away and played the lead role in the Doctor Blake Mysteries.