What to know as 6 women testify in Russell Brand rape and sexual assault trial in London

LONDON (AP) — Six women who accuse Russell Brand of sexually assaulting and raping them in separate instances have described during a London trial their encounters with the British actor and comedian. The women, who don’t know each other, allege they were assaulted by Brand between 1999 and 2009 in locations including workplaces, a hotel room and a bathroom at a bar. Brand, 51, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault.

Prosecutors allege Brand was a “ruthless” and manipulative sexual predator who at the time had an “indiscriminate and voracious” desire for sexual contact. Alleged assaults took place over a decade of Brand’s career The first woman alleged that Brand raped her in a hotel room in 1999 after she met him during a performance on the fringe of the Labour Party annual conference. A friend of Brand’s testified that some weeks after the alleged rape, the actor told him he “may have gone a bit too far” with a woman.

Another woman alleged that Brand orally raped her in 2004 in the restroom of a London bar. The woman said that she had just met Brand and was chatting to him at the bar when he suddenly grabbed her breasts then dragged her into the bathroom. A third woman, a then 21-year-old fan, said that Brand anally raped her at his home after she met him at one of his shows in 2009.

Three other women also testified about alleged assaults in their workplaces. One of them alleged that Brand grabbed her arm and tried to drag her into the men’s bathroom at her office in 2001. Another woman alleged that he kissed and groped her at the London radio station where she worked in 2004 or 2005.

A third woman said that he pressed his face into her groin and demanded a massage while recording for a television project in 2009. The women said they didn’t report the alleged assaults at the time out of shame, and because of concern that they wouldn’t be believed because of Brand’s celebrity status. They individually went to police to report what happened to them after a 2023 television program broadcast anonymous accusations against Brand.

Brand hasn’t testified so far Brand, who is on bail, has appeared in the courtroom with his wife, Laura Gallacher, throughout the trial. He listened intently from the dock, and sat expressionless much of the time as his accusers told of…