Russell Brand accused in court of being a calculated sexual predator
Russell Brand was a "ruthless, calculated and manipulative sexual predator" who used his celebrity status and force to rape and assault women, a London court has heard as his trial opened. The 51-year-old comedian denies all the charges: three counts of rape, three of sexual assault and one of indecent assault involving six women, in allegations spanning 1999 to 2009.
Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC told jurors at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday that Brand had an "insatiable" and indiscriminate desire for sexual contact and treated women as a means to an end, offending in locations including a hotel room, workplaces, a toilet cubicle and his home. She said he had once told a friend he aimed to sleep with 5,000 women, with rules such as "tell them what they need to hear."
The earliest allegation dates to the 1999 Labour party conference in Bournemouth, before Brand was famous, where he is accused of raping a woman in a hotel after a fringe event. In 2001, while at MTV, he allegedly tried to pull a staff member into a toilet. In 2004, he is said to have orally raped a woman in a Soho bar toilet after she protested, telling her: "Oh come on, don't be a spoilsport." Another complainant, a radio worker, says he groped and kissed her in 2004 or 2005.
The most serious account involves a 2009 fan who met Brand after a Hammersmith Apollo show. She says he anally raped her at his home, ignoring her repeated pleas to stop, leaving her bleeding for days and ordering her to "clean up the mess you have made." Text messages shown to the court show her telling him he treated her "like an animal," to which he replied: "I'm sorry."
Brand gave police prepared statements denying everything, saying he had never engaged in nonconsensual activity. His wife, Laura Gallacher, attended court with him. Once a major British TV and radio presenter who later moved into Hollywood films, Brand is being tried before Mr Justice Bennathan.
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