LONDON — The jury in the trial of British comedian and actor Russell Brand, who is accused of a string of sex offenses, began their deliberations Tuesday.
Brand, once a regular figure on British television and star of a number of Hollywood movies, is accused of three counts of rape, three of sexual assault and an attempted indecent assault involving six women between 1999 and 2009.
British actor and comedian Russell Brand arrives at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday during the fourth week of his trial on charges of rape and sexual assault involving six women between 1999 and 2009 in London.
The 51-year-old former husband of singer Katy Perry denies the allegations, giving evidence last week that he previously dedicated his life to reckless philandering and idiocy but said consent was always nonnegotiable.
Prosecutors told the jury at London's Southwark Crown Court as Brand's trial began last month that he was a ruthless "sexual predator" who attacked the six women as he rose from stand-up comedy to being one of Britain's most high-profile figures.
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All six of the complainants came forward to police after a documentary was broadcast in 2023, alongside newspaper articles, in which other women who are not involved in the trial made anonymous allegations.
Last week, prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones said in her closing argument that the six women "realized they are not alone" after the documentary came out.
Brand's lawyer Ian Winter, however, said the allegations in the documentary "poisoned the well" and made the complainants reimagine or invent consensual encounters.
