Comedian and actor Russell Brand appeared in London court on Friday on multiple sexual assault charges, including two counts of rape.
His appearance in Westminster District Court was the first basic process, which could be a long criminal lawsuit. A month after British prosecutors accused Mr Brand of rape, one verbal rape, two counts of sexual assault and another indecent assault.
At around 9:20 a.m., Mr. Brand, 49, arrived at the court and wore a shirt to show off his chest and golden sunglasses. Accompanied by several bodyguards, he slowly walked into the court without speaking to many journalists and photographers.
About 40 minutes later, Mr. Brand entered the court for a hearing.
Prosecutors said in a press release last month that the allegations were related to “non-criminal crimes between 1999 and 2005, involving four women.”
One of a sexual assault charges related to a woman said Mr Brand touched her breasts and the indecent assault allegations involved a woman saying Mr Brand dragged her to a male toilet, according to court documents related to Friday’s hearing.
Mr. Brand denied all charges. In a video posted to his social media account in April, he said he “never engaged in involuntary activities” and looked forward to defending himself in court.
Stuart Nolan, an organization representing British lawyers, said in the UK the first hearing in a criminal trial was “mostly administrative”. Nolan said the judge briefly referred the case on Friday to a high court called Crown Court, which involved more serious crimes.
Nolan added that Mr Brand will also be asked to confirm his name, address and date of birth, but will not plead for it.
Nolan said a plea hearing will take place in about a month, but due to the backlog of cases in the UK judicial system, the actual trial may only start “a year later.”
Mr. Brand became a British star in the early 2000s and appeared as a TV and radio host. Later, he also became famous in the United States after the period covered by the accusations, when he starred in the films Forgot Sarah Marshall (2008) and Let Him Enter Greek (2010). He briefly married pop star Katy Perry.
In recent years, Mr. Brand has been known for his conspiracy-aware YouTube videos. Nearly 7 million users agree with his channel, Mr. Brand released clips about political and news events on political and news events such as the Ukrainian War.
Under UK law, news media cannot identify anyone who makes sexual assault allegations unless they choose to waive their right to anonymity. After the charge is filed, strict regulations also prevent the reporting of any information that could undermine the trial jury.
