Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones accused Russell Brand of acting as a “ruthless” sexual predator when he allegedly assaulted six women over a decade. She made the allegation while opening the rape and sexual assault case against the actor and comedian at Southwark Crown Court in London.

Brand, 51, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault. The alleged offenses involve six women and are said to have taken place between 1999 and 2009. The women do not know one another.

The prosecutor said the alleged assaults occurred in a hotel room, workplaces, a bar toilet cubicle and Brand’s home. At the time, she said, he had an “indiscriminate and voracious” desire for sexual contact and treated “women as simply a means to an end.”

Karmy-Jones told jurors that Brand could be funny and charming, “a flirt with a huge sexual appetite” who childishly expected every desire to be fulfilled. “He was ruthless, he was calculating, he was manipulative. And, the prosecution say, he was a sexual predator,” she said.

Brand listened closely as the prosecutor described the alleged incidents. The earliest is said to have occurred in 1999, when Brand allegedly raped a woman in a hotel room during the Labour Party’s annual conference. At the time, he was a rising stand-up comedian performing in a cabaret on the fringe of the conference in the coastal town of Bournemouth.

Another woman alleges that, two years later, Brand tried to pull her into the men’s bathroom at the office building where she worked. “There can be little doubt as to what Mr. Brand’s intention was,” Karmy-Jones told the jury.

A third woman alleges that Brand orally raped her in a London bar restroom in 2004. When she asked him to stop, he allegedly replied, “Don’t be a spoilsport.”

The remaining allegations concern a woman who says Brand kissed and groped her at a London radio station in 2004 or 2005, leaving her feeling “dirty and disgusting.” A then-21-year-old fan says Brand anally raped her at his home in 2009 after she met him at one of his shows. Another woman alleges that during the recording of an advertisement in 2009, Brand demanded a massage and pressed his face into her groin.

Karmy-Jones said none of the alleged victims reported the assaults at the time because of guilt, shame and fears that they would be blamed. The women are expected to testify later in the trial. The prosecutor said she had no doubt the jury would find their evidence compelling.

Brand denies all the charges. During police interviews, he denied ever engaging in nonconsensual sexual activity.

Brand is on bail and arrived at court amid photographers and television journalists. He said he felt “blessed” but acknowledged being concerned. “I feel, of course, concerned but hopeful that this process will lead to good outcomes for everybody involved. That’s my prayer,” he said.

Known for provocative stand-up routines and struggles with drugs and alcohol, Brand rose to prominence in the early 2000s. He hosted television programs and his own BBC radio show, and appeared in the films “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him to the Greek.”

In recent years, Brand has moved away from mainstream media, relocated to Florida and built a large online following with videos about wellness, conspiracy theories and his religious devotion. The alleged victims are not named because British law protects their identities for life.

Source: cnn.com