LONDON — Russell Brand's long-awaited criminal trial opened Tuesday at Southwark Crown Court, where a prosecutor told jurors the 51-year-old comedian and actor was a "ruthless, calculated and manipulative sexual predator" whose desire for sexual contact was "indiscriminate and voracious."

Brand faces seven charges — three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault — involving six women, with alleged incidents stretching from 1999 to 2009. He has pleaded not guilty to all of them.

Opening the case for the Crown, prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones told the newly sworn jury of eight men and four women that the alleged assaults took place in a hotel room, workplaces, a toilet cubicle in a bar and at Brand's own home, according to reporting on the opening statements. One of the most serious allegations, prosecutors said, involves a rape at a hotel during a Labour Party conference.

"RUTHLESS, CALCULATED AND MANIPULATIVE" — PROSECUTOR RIEL KARMY-JONES, ON RUSSELL BRAND

A Trial Years in the Making

The allegations first became public in 2023, after a joint investigation by The Sunday Times and Channel 4's Dispatches aired multiple women's accounts against Brand, prompting a lengthy Metropolitan Police investigation that led to Tuesday's charges. The investigation included on-camera and sworn accounts from several women who said Brand assaulted or raped them during the height of his fame in the UK, while he hosted "Big Brother's Big Mouth" and worked as a BBC and Radio 2 presenter. Brand denied the allegations at the time, describing them as part of a coordinated campaign against him, and has continued to dispute that characterization since.

Presiding over the case is Mr. Justice Joel Bennathan, who has told the court the trial is expected to run between six and ten weeks. Brand's defense has not yet presented its case, though his legal team has previously suggested the allegations are part of a coordinated campaign against him; prosecutors reject that characterization.

Brand rose to fame as a British stand-up comedian before breaking into Hollywood with films including "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and "Get Him to the Greek." In recent years he has built a large online following as a commentator, often railing against mainstream media coverage of himself and the allegations now at the center of this trial.

Tuesday's opening statements mark one of the highest-profile celebrity criminal trials in Britain in years, drawing heavy domestic and international media attention to Southwark Crown Court, a venue that has hosted a string of prominent criminal cases in recent years.

What's Next

The trial is expected to feature testimony from the six accusers over the coming weeks, followed by the defense case. A verdict is not expected before the proceedings' scheduled conclusion in December. The women's identities remain protected under UK law governing sexual offense complainants, and Brand remains free on bail for the duration of the trial. If convicted on even one of the seven counts, Brand could face a substantial prison sentence under UK sentencing guidelines; no mandatory minimum applies before a verdict, and any sentencing would follow a separate hearing after the trial concludes.