Russell Brand was ‘ruthless sexual predator’, rape and sexual assault trial told

Russell Brand faces three charges of rape, indecent assault, and three counts of sexual assault, relating to six women (Ben Whitley/PA)

Russell Brand is a “ruthless, calculated and manipulative” predator who raped and groped women to satisfy his sexual appetite, a British court has heard.

The 51-year-old was “obsessed” with sex and treated women as a “means to an end”, the court was told, and was “child-like in his expectation that his every desire should be met”.

Brand is on trial accused of attacking six women in incidents between 1999 and 2009, as his showbiz career was flourishing.

Opening the case against him at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday, prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC said Brand – who denies all the charges – used humour and his “charm” in the constant pursuit of sex.

One of the alleged rape victims claims Brand told her “don’t be a spoilsport” as she tried to stop him.

Brand has pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault, and an allegation of indecent assault.

Ms Karmy-Jones said the claims facing Brand happened as “his public profile was taking off as he was progressing from doing gigs as a stand-up comedian at pubs and clubs to a TV presenter, an actor, and Hollywood movie star”.

She told jurors: “Offending took place in a number of locations: a hotel room, workplaces, a toilet cubicle in a bar and at his home address.

“Some of the women involved protested and said no; others had no opportunity to react to his advances, but it mattered not to the defendant.

“Regardless of who they were and what they said or did, the defendant was not deterred.

“His desire for some form of sexual contact was indiscriminate and voracious.

“He could be nice when he wanted to be – funny, undoubtedly; charming, likeable even – when he wanted something in return. But then demanding, entitled, a flirt with a huge sexual appetite – childlike in his expectation that his every desire should be met.

“He was ruthless, he was calculated, and he was manipulative, and the prosecution say – a sexual predator.”

She told the court Brand would “tell women what they wanted to hear, be nice, be charming”, and to others he appeared to take an interest in a cause they were promoting.

“Sometimes he might even have made sexual advances within minutes of meeting them”, she said

“But every time he had identified his target, he was intent on trying to fulfil his sexual desire.

“After the event, he would appear indifferent, normal and untroubled by what had occurred, sometimes leaving promptly after it, sometimes making an excuse to get away or sometimes simply continuing to act as though nothing wrong had happened.

“He cared not who the woman was, or what state she was left in, or how he had left her feeling.

“Uppermost in his mind was his insatiable desire to get what he wanted with whomever he wanted it from.”

Jurors heard one of the alleged victims told Brand that she “didn’t want to do this” as he was raping her, and he is alleged to have replied: “Oh come on, come on, don’t be a spoilsport.”

“To the defendant, women were simply a means to an end,” added Ms Karmy-Jones.

Brand is facing allegations he raped a woman after performing a show at the 1999 Labour Party conference, and allegedly sexually assaulted women at a radio station and in a Soho bar.

The Essex-born comedian was once a fixture in the British media, presenting on Channel 4 and fronting his own BBC Radio 2 show.

He presented the Brit Awards, Comic Relief and the MTV Music Video Awards, and also took on starring roles in Hollywood films such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Rock Of Ages, and Arthur.

Brand, who has become a podcaster in recent years, now lives in Florida in the US and was accompanied to court by his wife Laura Gallacher.

As he arrived at the central London court on Wednesday morning, he said: “Today I feel blessed; I feel, of course, concerned, but hopeful that this process will lead to good outcomes for everybody involved.

“That’s my prayer.”

Brand denies three allegations of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one allegation of indecent assault.

The trial continues.