_updates.jpg)
Russell Brand was "ruthless and calculated" when it came to his desire for sexual contact, the court heard as the highly anticipated rape trial kicked off in London.
Brand arrived at court on Wednesday, October 14, for his sexual assault and rape trial.
At the opening of the case, a prosecutor described the comedian, who has been accused of assault against six women over the course of a decade, as a "ruthless" sexual predator.
Russell Brand's trial details
Brand has pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault.
The charges involve six women and alleged offences between 1999 and 2009.
Ahead of the trial, the jury was selected on Tuesday, consisting of eight men and four women.
The prosecution called out Russell Brand during trial opening
Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones told jurors at Southwark Crown Court in London that the six women, who do not know each other, were assaulted in "a hotel room, workplaces, a toilet cubicle in a bar and at [Brand's] home address".
She said that at the time Brand had an "indiscriminate and voracious" desire for sexual contact, and "women were simply a means to an end".
"He was ruthless, he was calculating, he was manipulative. And, the prosecution say, he was a sexual predator," Karmy-Jones said.
Russell Brand's feeling 'blessed' amid rape trial
Brand is currently on bail and arrived at court Wednesday to a crowd of photographers and video journalists. He said 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."
Russell Brand's alleged victims and their accusations
During the opening of the trial, the court heard of the first alleged victim, who was in her 20s at the time of the incident in 1999.
The prosecution said that the woman first met Brand at the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth and assumed he was gay.
Later in her hotel room, she invited him to make himself a cup of tea while she used the bathroom. When she emerged, she was shocked to find him "partially undressed".
The prosecution then alleged that Brand raped her. She "described drifting out of her head, knowing there was nothing she could do, as he pulled her trousers and underwear down, penetrated her vagina with his penis — raping her," Karmy-Jones said.
The second alleged incident occurred in 2001 and involved a woman in her 30s who was working at MTV.
Brand asked her where the toilets were, and when she showed him he asked her to "come in" and allegedly grabbed her forearm. She resisted and managed to pull herself away.
The third alleged victim claimed she met the actor at a party in Soho in 2004, where he grabbed her breasts in the middle of a conversation, and then pulled her to the toilets where he allegedly orally raped her.
Moreover, the fourth allegation occurred at Capital Radio in 2004/2005.
Brand allegedly pushed the woman against a wall and "aggressively" kissed her while grabbing "her body, her breasts, sides and buttocks," the prosecution said.
The fifth incident allegedly took place in 2009 when the alleged victim met Brand during his performance at London's Hammersmith Apollo.
While their sexual encounter began consensually, Brand allegedly raped her anally. She asked him to stop, and he did not; the court heard, and then the woman realised he had taken off condom.
The sixth woman claimed that Brand demanded a massage from her while she was on a work assignment in 2009. She reported the incident at work in 2023 and then to the police.
