Actor/comedian Russell Brand appeared in a London, England courtroom on Friday to face charges of rape, indecent assault, oral rape and two counts of sexual assault, according to London’s Metropolitan Police. The police opened a sex crimes investigation into Brand in September 2023, just weeks after England’s The Sunday Times and Channel 4 TV’s documentary show Dispatches carried a report that four women had accused Brand of sexual assault, including one rape that allegedly occurred at his Los Angeles home in 2012 at the height of his Hollywood fame, reports The New York Post. The alleged offences are tied to four separate women and took place between 1999 and 2005, according to Metropolitan Police. On Wednesday, Brand said on social media he was “heading to the UK for what I am assured will be a simple formality.” “I am absolutely open to and welcome the opportunity to defend myself because my innocence is indefatigable,” he said, adding that “fingers crossed” he would be back in time to stream his daily show on Monday, reports The New York Post. Specifically, court documents show Brand is accused of assaulting a woman in 2001 by “grabbing her arm and dragging her towards a male toilet.” .He is also accused of sexually assaulting another woman in Westminster, London, in 2004, by touching her breasts without her consent. Police said he is also responsible for the alleged oral rape that took place that same year. Brand allegedly raped another woman in Bournemouth in 1999 and assaulted a then-16-year-old girl by forcing her to perform oral sex during a three-month-long relationship. The then-teen claimed she had to punch the actor in the stomach to make him stop, the report alleged. Another woman, cited in the initial media report, alleged he sexually assaulted her at his West Hollywood residence after the two met at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. In a statement made in April, after the charges were laid, Brand said the charges were false, adding he was “never” a rapist. “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,” he said. “I’ve never engaged in non-consensual activity. I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes.” “I’m now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court and I’m incredibly grateful for that,” he added. .On Friday, Brand was asked to stand in court for the 12-minute hearing and did not enter a plea, but was granted bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for May 30 at the Central Criminal Court at Old Bailey in London.
