An Oscar-winner who composed one of the most famous love songs of all time has been charged with raping and sexually assaulting 11 women.

As well as writing and directing the 1977 movie 'You Light Up My Life', Joseph Brooks wrote the title track which went on to become one of the most successful singles of the '70s and win him an Academy Award.

Yesterday, the 71-year-old turned himself in to police to answer charges he used popular classifieds website Craigslist to lure aspiring actresses to his Manhattan apartment.

Authorities claim women answered the ads expecting to audition for his next movie.

They have claimed Brooks gave them spiked drinks, then asked them to perform sex acts on them in the belief they were auditioning to play the part of a prostitute.

Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said Brooks paid for 10 of the 11 victims to fly in from Washington state, Florida and Oregon.

It is alleged that many were forcibly raped and that up to eight more victims may be brought forward.