Russell Brand pleaded not guilty on Friday in a UK court to charges of rape and sexual assault. The charges stem from decades' old incidents that Brand contends were consensual.
Brand has denied the charges and further did so in court, entering his plea of "not guilty."
Brand's trial is set to start on Monday, June 3 and will last four to five weeks in judge Tony Baumgartner's court. The charges are one of rape, one or oral rape, two counts of sexual assault and one of indecent assault.
The charges represent alleged encounters with four women and those incidents were between 1999 and 2005. The allegations were not made until journalists began searching out women from Brand's past to inquire as to misdeeds he may have committed.
In a post on X, Brand responded to the charges when they were laid in April saying "the law has become a kind of weapon to be used against people, institutions, and sometimes entire nations that will not accept and tolerate levels of corruption that are unprecedented." He asked viewers how they feel, in the UK, about their legal system, from the coverup of the Rotheram rape gangs to the Southport murders and arrests over social media posts.
"I don’t live in the United Kingdom any more because I personally have experienced how the media, government and judiciary — if you suddenly become an inconvenience — will find ways to attack and shut you down," Brand said.
The investigation into Brand is based on the anonymous allegations of women contacted by Channel 4 and The Sunday Times. Following the reports, police "issued a charge and requisition" to Brand.
Brand has denied the charges and further did so in court, entering his plea of "not guilty."
Brand's trial is set to start on Monday, June 3 and will last four to five weeks in judge Tony Baumgartner's court. The charges are one of rape, one or oral rape, two counts of sexual assault and one of indecent assault.
The charges represent alleged encounters with four women and those incidents were between 1999 and 2005. The allegations were not made until journalists began searching out women from Brand's past to inquire as to misdeeds he may have committed.
In a post on X, Brand responded to the charges when they were laid in April saying "the law has become a kind of weapon to be used against people, institutions, and sometimes entire nations that will not accept and tolerate levels of corruption that are unprecedented." He asked viewers how they feel, in the UK, about their legal system, from the coverup of the Rotheram rape gangs to the Southport murders and arrests over social media posts.
"I don’t live in the United Kingdom any more because I personally have experienced how the media, government and judiciary — if you suddenly become an inconvenience — will find ways to attack and shut you down," Brand said.
The investigation into Brand is based on the anonymous allegations of women contacted by Channel 4 and The Sunday Times. Following the reports, police "issued a charge and requisition" to Brand.
