London: Actor and comedian Russell Brand appeared at London's Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday as his trial on rape and sexual assault charges began, with prosecutors describing him as a “ruthless” sexual predator who allegedly assaulted six women over a decade.
Brand, 51, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault. The charges relate to six women and alleged offences between 1999 and 2009.
Opening the prosecution's case, prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones told jurors that the women, who do not know each other, were allegedly assaulted by Brand in “a hotel room, workplaces, a toilet cubicle in a bar and at his home address”.
She said some of the women had protested against his alleged advances, while others had no opportunity to react, but that it had made no difference to Brand.
Karmy-Jones said that, at the time, Brand had an “indiscriminate and voracious” desire for sexual contact and that “women were simply a means to an end”.
The prosecutor described Brand as someone who could be funny and charming, “a flirt with a huge sexual appetite -- childlike in his expectation that his every desire should be met”.
“He was ruthless, he was calculating, he was manipulative. And, the prosecution says, he was a sexual predator,” Karmy-Jones told the jury.
The alleged offences took place over a decade as Brand progressed from performing stand-up comedy to becoming a television presenter, actor and Hollywood film star, the prosecutor said.
Brand listened intently from the dock as the prosecution outlined the allegations. In the earliest alleged incident, he is accused of raping a woman in a hotel room during the Labour Party's annual conference in 1999. At the time, Brand was a rising stand-up comedian performing in a cabaret on the fringe of the conference in the English coastal town of Bournemouth.
Two years later, another woman alleges, Brand tried to drag her into the men's bathroom at the office building where she worked.
“There can be little doubt as to what Mr Brand's intention was,” Karmy-Jones said.
A third woman alleges that Brand orally raped her in 2004 in the restroom of a London bar, telling her “Don't be a spoilsport” when she asked him to stop.
The other charges relate to a woman who says Brand kissed and groped her at a London radio station in 2004 or 2005, leaving her feeling “dirty and disgusting”; a then-21-year-old fan who alleges that Brand anally raped her at his home after she met him at one of his shows in 2009; and a woman who says Brand demanded a massage and pressed his face into her groin during the recording of an advertisement in 2009.
Karmy-Jones told jurors that none of the women reported the alleged assaults at the time because of guilt, shame and concerns that they would be blamed.
She said jurors would hear from the women later in the trial, adding, “I have no doubt you will find their evidence compelling.”
Brand denies all the allegations. During police interviews, he denied ever engaging in non-consensual sexual activity and is expected to present his defence in court later in the proceedings.
He arrived at court on Wednesday to a crowd of photographers and video journalists, saying he felt “blessed”.
“I feel, of course, concerned but hopeful that this process will lead to good outcomes for everybody involved,” Brand said. “That's my prayer.”
Brand appeared in court wearing a dark suit and a thin white scarf, staring forward as the prosecution presented its case.
The trial is expected to last about six weeks and has attracted significant media attention, with a second courtroom opened to accommodate more journalists and several outlets running daily podcasts.
Known for his risqué stand-up routines and struggles with drugs and alcohol, Brand rose to prominence in Britain in the early 2000s, hosting television programmes and his own BBC radio show. He later appeared in Hollywood films including “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him to the Greek”.
Brand, who was previously married to US singer Katy Perry, married her in 2010. They divorced in 2012.
In recent years, Brand has moved away from mainstream media, relocated to Florida and built a large online following through broadcasts and videos discussing wellness, conspiracy theories, US politics, religion and free speech.
-With inputs from AP via PTI and Reuters