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Russell Brand behaved as a “ruthless” sexual predator when he assaulted six women over the course of a decade, a prosecutor said on Wednesday as she opened 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 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.
Brand is on bail and arrived at court Wednesday to a crowed 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.”
Born to working-class parents in Essex in eastern England, Brand launched a successful stand-up comedy career as a teenager.
He became a household name as a television presenter on MTV, Channel Four and the BBC, also penning newspaper columns and two autobiographies.
He then made a foray into Hollywood, starring in several hit films, and was in a brief, but high-profile, marriage to US pop star Katy Perry.
Now remarried and living in Florida with his young family, he has gained a new following as an influencer, with 6 million subscribers on YouTube, 10.1 million on X and 4.9 million on Instagram.
Additional sources • AP, AFP