Russell Brand was described as "ruthless" and a "sexual predator" by the prosecution at the start of his trial for rape and sexual assault on Wednesday. The 51-year-old actor and comedian faces three counts of rape, three charges of sexual assault and one of indecent assault. The allegations, made by six female complainants, span a 10-year period between 1999 and 2009.
Riel Karmy-Jones KC, for the prosecution, told Southwark Crown Court in London the women "did not know each other", "have never met each other" and "came forward independently of each other". Warning - this report contains graphic content The barrister said: "The circumstances of the offending were as wide and as varied as the defendant's career." She said that "regardless of who the women were and what they said or did, Brand was not deterred". "His desire, strong desire, for some form of sexual contact was indiscriminate and voracious," she told the court.
The prosecutor told jurors that Brand would be "nice when he wanted to be, funny - undoubtedly - charming, likeable even, when he wanted something in return". But she said he would also be "demanding, entitled, a flirt with a huge sexual appetite - childlike in his expectation that his every desire should be met". The prosecutor said Brand would "appear indifferent, normal and untroubled by what had just occurred" after the encounters.
She added that "sometimes he would leave promptly after the incident, sometimes making an excuse to get away, or sometimes simply continuing as though nothing wrong had happened". On Wednesday, the jury heard details of the alleged offences. The first complainant says she met Brand before he was famous in 1999, the jury was told.
She had attended the Labour Party conference and went to a fringe event where she spoke to Brand. He later allegedly raped her. The prosecution said when Brand was questioned by police about this allegation of rape, "he said if it happened, he didn't remember the incident".
He added that he did not remember the first complainant's name and that he "had never engaged in non-consensual activity". The second complainant worked for MTV at the time when she says Brand indecently assaulted her. She said Brand asked her where the toilets were and the woman offered to show him.
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