Prosecution Calls Russell Brand a "Sexual Predator" as Rape Trial Opens at Southwark Crown Court

Russell Brand was branded a "ruthless" and "sexual predator" by prosecutors on Wednesday as his long-awaited trial for rape and sexual assault opened at Southwark Crown Court in London. The 51-year-old actor, comedian and former television presenter faces three counts of rape, three charges of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault. The allegations, brought by six female complainants, are said to span a decade between 1999 and 2009. Brand denies all of the charges.

Opening the case for the Crown, prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC told the jury that the women at the centre of the trial "did not know each other", "have never met each other" and "came forward independently of each other". That detail is likely to be central to the prosecution's argument, as it seeks to show a consistent pattern of behaviour rather than a series of isolated incidents. The barrister described the circumstances of the alleged offending as being "as wide and as varied as the defendant's career".

Karmy-Jones told the court that "regardless of who the women were and what they said or did, Brand was not deterred". She said his "desire, strong desire, for some form of sexual contact was indiscriminate and voracious". The prosecution's characterization of the defendant set the tone for what is expected to be a closely watched trial, with Brand seated in the dock in a dark suit and open white shirt, as captured in a court sketch by artist Julia Quenzler.

The prosecutor painted a complex portrait of the man the jury will be asked to judge. She said Brand could be "nice when he wanted to be, funny – undoubtedly – charming, likeable even, when he wanted something in return". But she alleged he could equally be "demanding, entitled, a flirt with a huge sexual appetite – childlike in his expectation that his every desire should be met". She also told jurors that after encounters he would "appear indifferent, normal and untroubled by what had just occurred", sometimes leaving promptly or making an excuse to get away.

The court heard details of each complainant's account. The first woman says she met Brand in 1999, before he became famous, after attending a Labour Party conference and speaking to him at a fringe event. She alleges he later raped her. When police questioned Brand about the allegation, he said that if it happened he did not remember the incident, that he did not recall the woman's name, and that he had "never engaged in non-consensual activity".

The second complainant was working for MTV at the time when she says Brand indecently assaulted her. She told the court that Brand asked her where the toilets were and she offered to show him. When they arrived, prosecutors say, he asked her to "come in" before grabbing her forearm. She resisted by struggling and pulling back, and described a desperate, wild-eyed look on his face as he said, "Please please come in – oh go on."

A third complainant says Brand orally raped her in a toilet after they met at a party in 2004. The jury was told that within a minute of meeting, in the middle of a conversation, he lurched forward and grabbed her breasts with both hands and squeezed them. The prosecution said the woman remembered a "big, weird grin" on his face as he did so, before he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the toilets. The same woman said that as they were driving to another venue, Brand exposed himself and said, "Come on, come on, suck it", to which she replied, "No no". He simply laughed but appeared to accept her refusal, the prosecution added.

The fourth complainant alleges that Brand pushed her up against a wall at Capital Radio in 2004 or 2005 and kissed her "sloppily and aggressively", also grabbing her body at her breasts, sides and buttocks. She was able to push him away, and the prosecutor said he "just sniggered, like it was a joke".

The fifth complainant says she met Brand when he was performing at the Hammersmith Apollo in London in 2009. The prosecution told the jury that their encounter began with consensual activity, but that he allegedly raped her anally on a later occasion. The woman "spent months and years blaming herself", becoming anxious and unwell, the court heard. The jury was told Brand texted her after seeing her at an event the following summer, saying: "I wanna push you further." She is said to have replied: "I think you pushed me far enough – you treated me like an animal." He allegedly responded: "I'm sorry."

The sixth complainant, who has accused Brand of sexual assault, says he demanded a massage when she was on a work assignment in 2009. According to the prosecution, he "fell to his knees and placed his head directly into her groin area".

After outlining the accounts of the final two women, the prosecutor said Brand told police in 2023 that "he has never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity", and that any accounts had been reinvented or imagined after a defamatory documentary and subsequent press reporting. That defence position suggests the trial will examine the impact of media coverage on the allegations, as well as the reliability of the complainants' memories.

On Wednesday afternoon, Brand's former flatmate Mark Pinheiro became the first witness to give evidence. Pinheiro told jurors that Brand had told him he may have gone a "bit too far" with a woman, though the source article does not provide further detail on that exchange.

Brand's wife, Laura Brand, joined him at court on Wednesday, holding his hand as the couple walked past a group of photographers behind a red barrier outside the building. The trial continues, and the BBC is producing a daily podcast, "Fame Under Fire: Russell Brand on Trial", available on BBC Sounds, YouTube, iPlayer and other podcast platforms. The case is expected to hinge on the jury's assessment of six separate accounts, the credibility of the complainants, and Brand's repeated denials of any non-consensual conduct.