Comedian and actor Russell Brand has attended Southwark Crown Court in London for a preliminary hearing ahead of his rape and sexual assault trial.
The 51-year-old was accompanied by his wife, Laura Gallacher, as he arrived at court on Tuesday for the first of two days of pre-trial legal arguments. His trial is scheduled to start next Monday and could last up to ten weeks.
Brand and his wife spent almost seven hours inside the building before leaving hand in hand on Tuesday afternoon. As the couple departed, an onlooker shouted, "Praise the Lord, Russell Brand", to which Brand replied: "God bless you for saying that." Asked earlier by reporters outside court how he felt, he answered: "Blessed."
The performer arrived at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday morning in a black Mercedes. Wearing a grey suit jacket and sunglasses, he was flanked by a security guard and accompanied by Mrs Brand, who wore a yellow suit and leopard-print trainers, as he walked slowly past waiting news photographers. Brand remained silent as he entered the court.
At a previous hearing at Southwark Crown Court, Brand carried a bible while wearing an unbuttoned animal print shirt and a white hat. The venue, situated in Southwark in central London, is one of the largest crown court complexes in England, handling serious criminal trials passed from magistrates' courts.
Criminal Charges and Allegations
The Crown Prosecution Service charged Brand in April last year with one count of rape, one of indecent assault, one of oral rape, and two counts of sexual assault. Prosecutors brought a further two charges, of rape and sexual assault, in December last year.
Brand faces seven charges in total, brought by the Crown Prosecution Service, involving six women. The charges comprise three counts of rape, one count of indecent assault, and three counts of sexual assault. The Crown Prosecution Service serves as the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales.
Court filings detail allegations spanning several years and locations. Brand is accused of raping a woman in a hotel room in Bournemouth as she attended a Labour Party conference in 1999. Bournemouth is a coastal resort town located on the south coast of England.
According to court documents, Brand is also accused of grabbing the breasts of a television worker and orally raping her after dragging her into a male toilet in 2004. In another allegation, court filings accuse him of orally raping a woman during a birthday party at a bar in Westminster, a central London borough that is home to the UK Parliament and central government offices.
Brand is further accused of grabbing the face of a radio station worker, pushing her against a wall at a London radio station and kissing her before groping her buttocks and breasts.
Denials and Pre-Trial Statements
Brand has repeatedly denied all allegations against him and insists he has never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity.
In a video shared online following the initial charges in April last year, Brand said: "I'm now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court and I'm incredibly grateful for that."
In a social media post published that same month, Brand wrote: "I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord. I was a drug addict, a sex addict and an imbecile. But what I never was was a rapist. I've never engaged in non-consensual activity."
Career and Background
Brand built his career as a stand-up comedian and radio host before presenting television shows including Big Brother's Big Mouth. He later starred in Hollywood film comedies such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him To The Greek. More recently, he has operated as an online podcaster and digital broadcaster.
Brand was married to American pop star Katy Perry between 2010 and 2012. He has been married since 2017 to Laura Gallacher, sister of sports presenter Kirsty Gallacher, and the couple have three children together. The family maintains a home in Florida.
Earlier this year, Brand sold the historic Crown Inn near Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. He had previously planned to convert part of the pub into a recording studio for his social media broadcasts. Henley-on-Thames is a market town situated on the River Thames in Oxfordshire.
The preliminary legal arguments at Southwark Crown Court are scheduled to continue on Wednesday ahead of the trial opening next week.
