The Oscar-winning composer of the sickly sweet "You Light Up My Life" is actually, prosecutors say, a dirty old serial rapist monster. We should have known.

Joseph Brooks won the Oscar for "Best Song" in 1977, and proceeded to use that credential to help him lure starry-eyed young women to his apartment, where he got them drunk and raped them under the guise of "auditioning" them for a part that would launch their careers. He was allegedly assisted by his "42-year-old female personal assistant, Shawni Lucier"—when you add the "F," that spells Lucifer!

The pair would put ads on Craigslist and talent sites saying that an award-winning composer was looking for a pretty 18-22 year old girl to help with her career. In reality, cops say, Brooks had the rapes meticulously planned out.

Brooks primarily targeted victims from Washington state and Oregon — including former "American Idol" contestant Loretta Spruell, of Seattle — so they would be tired from traveling by the time they arrived in New York, authorities said. He allegedly hoped that would leave them without the energy to put up a fight.

Lucifer the assistant would pick the girls up at the airport, reassure them, and drive them over to Brooks' place, where he would spring his trap:

Once Brooks had his prey inside his apartment, he used the oldest trick in the book, cops said. He allegedly told the women they were trying out for the role of a prostitute, and the scene they were depicting involved drinking glasses of wine "repeatedly and quickly."... Brooks then turned into a monster, urging them to take off their clothes and ultimately forcing himself on them, authorities said.



Brooks is facing 82 counts of rape, sexual assault, and other charges, and he says he's innocent. Anyone who could make that song is predictably despicable.

[NYP. Pic: AP]