Russell Brand labelled ‘ruthless’ predator as sexual assault trial opens

Russell Brand behaved as a "ruthless" sexual predator when he assaulted six women over the course of a decade, a prosecutor has alleged, as she opens the rape and sexual assault case against the actor-comedian.

Brand, 51, 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.

Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones told jurors at Southwark Crown Court in London on Wednesday that the six women, who don't know each other, were assaulted by Brand in "a hotel room, workplaces, a toilet cubicle in a bar and at his home address".

She said Brand at the time had an "indiscriminate and voracious" desire for sexual contact, and "women were simply a means to an end".

The prosecutor said Brand 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 say, he was a sexual predator," Karmy-Jones said.

Jury will hear from Brand's accusers

Brand listened intently from the dock as the prosecutor described each of the alleged incidents, including the earliest, in which he allegedly raped a woman in a hotel room during the Labour Party's annual conference in 1999. Brand, then a rising stand-up comedian, was 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 toilet 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 Brand orally raped her in 2004 in the toilet of a London bar, telling her "Don't be a spoilsport" when she asked him to stop.

The prosecutor said the other complainants include a woman who says Brand kissed and groped her at a London radio station in 2004 or 2005, leaving her feeling "dirty and disgusting"; and a then 21-year-old fan who says Brand anally raped her at his home after she met him at one of his shows in 2009.

She said the following year she exchanged text messages with Brand, telling him: "You treated me like an animal". 

He replied: "I'm sorry."

The final complainant says Brand demanded a massage and pressed his face into her groin during the recording of an advertisement in 2009.

Karmy-Jones told the jury none of the alleged victims reported the alleged assaults at the time, due to guilt, shame and concern that they would be blamed. They individually went to police after a 2023 television program broadcast anonymous claims against Brand, she said.

The prosecutor said jurors would hear from the women later in the trial, and "I have no doubt you will find their evidence compelling".

The first witness to give evidence was Mark Pinheiro, a former friend of Brand who accompanied him on the 1999 trip to Bournemouth. He said that the day after the alleged rape, Brand made them leave town abruptly and seemed "incredibly alert and incredibly afraid".

"Whenever a police siren passed the car, Russell would cower down behind the side window so he couldn't be seen," Pinheiro said.

Brand's lawyer, Ian Winter, questioned Pinheiro's recollection of events more than a quarter century ago.

Brand denies all the charges. In police interviews, he denied ever engaging in non-consensual sexual activity.

Brand’s shift from mainstream media to online audience

Brand is on bail and arrived at court on 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.”

Known for risqué stand-up routines and battles with drugs and alcohol, Brand rose to prominence in the early 2000s, hosting television programs and his own BBC radio show. He appeared in Hollywood films including Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek and was briefly married to pop star Katy Perry.

In recent years he has moved away from mainstream media, relocated to Florida and built a large online following with videos mixing wellness, conspiracy theories and discussions of his religious devotion.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).