Russell Brand was ruthless, calculated and manipulative sexual predator, court told

Comedian faces three charges of rape, three of sexual assault and one of indecent assault against six women

Russell Brand was a ruthless, calculated and manipulative sexual predator who used his celebrity status and force to rape and assault women, a court has heard.

He is accused of ignoring one woman’s pleas to stop raping her in an assault that left her bleeding and in pain. He is also alleged to have orally raped another woman as he told her: “Oh come on, don’t be a spoilsport.”

Wearing a black pinstripe suit, white shirt and a necktie, Brand stood in the dock at Southwark crown court in London on Wednesday as the prosecution opened its case.

“Some of the women involved protested and said no, others had no opportunity to protest and no opportunity react to his advances but that didn’t matter to the defendant. Regardless of who they were and what they said or did, Russell Brand was not deterred.

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

The court heard the earliest allegation dated back to the Labour party conference in Bournemouth in 1999, when Brand was not yet famous. He allegedly raped a woman at a hotel after meeting her at a fringe event where he was performing.

Brand allegedly raped her without a condom, before telling her: “Don’t worry, I get tested regularly for STDs, I don’t have anything.” He then behaved as if nothing had happened, wrote down his email address, and said he had to get back to his mother.

He denied the allegation in a prepared statement to police, saying he had had sexual encounters in countless locations and scenarios, often with people he had just met.

She was shocked and mentioned what had happened when she returned from the toilet but never formally reported it.

The fourth woman was working at a radio station when she said Brand “sloppily and aggressively” kissed her and grabbed her breasts and buttocks in a sexual assault alleged to have taken place in 2004 or 2005.

The fifth complainant was a fan of Brand and had gone with a friend to see the comedian perform at the Hammersmith Apollo in London in 2009. According to the woman’s friend, at the end of the show, Brand said: “If I do speak to you and ask you to come to my dressing room, please know I am not doing that to give you an autograph. I will give you an autograph, but it will be on the inside of your uterus.” He said his age range was “from 16 to death”.