Comedian Russell Brand arrived at a London court Monday for the opening of his trial on expenses of rape and sexual assault.
Brand was flanked by security guards and accompanied by his spouse, Laura Gallacher, as he arrived at Southwark Crown Court for the first day of a trial that is expected to last 10 to 12 weeks.
Brand, 51, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one depend of indecent assault.
Russell Brand arrives at Southwark Crown Court in central London, on Oct. 12, 2026. Marcin Nowak/LNP/Shutterstock
The offenses relate to six girls and are alleged to have taken place between 1999 and 2009.
He has remained free on bail forward of his trial.
Prosecutors have said at earlier hearings that Brand is accused of raping a lady in a lodge room at a Labour Party convention, grabbing a TV employee’s breasts and forcing her into a intercourse act in a toilet, and kissing and groping a radio station employee.
Known for risque stand-up routines and battles with medication and alcohol, Brand was a main star of the early 2000s, with TV internet hosting jobs, his own BBC radio show and roles in movies including “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him to the Greek.”
In current years he has dropped out of mainstream media, moved to Florida and constructed a giant following online with videos mixing wellness, conspiracy theories and discussions of his non secular devotion.
Brand, accompanied by his spouse Laura Brand, arrives at Southwark Crown Court in London, Monday, where he is charged with counts of rape and sexual assault against six girls, which he has denied. AP Photo/Kin Cheung
The Associated Press doesn’t title victims of alleged sexual violence, and British law protects their identities from the media for life.
