Russell Brand arrives at court for rape trial with third complainant expected to give evidence

Russell Brand arrives at court for rape trial with third complainant expected to give evidence The former comic Russell Brand arrived at Southwark Crown Court for the sixth day of his trial, where he is answering to charges of rape, sexual assault and indecent assault Russell Brand has arrived in court for the sixth day of his rape trial, with a third complainant expected to give evidence today. He arrived at Southwark crown court this morning just after 9.30am. The 51-year-old comedian was accompanied by his wife Laura Gallacher, 38. The former comedian, 51, who denies three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one of indecent assault against six different women, has appeared at Southwark Crown Court again. He is answering charges that span 10 years of his showbiz career, with the court having previously heard that he tried to pull a woman into a toilet after turning from jovial and friendly to a wild-eyed maniac. Brand has arrived in person for each of his trials, on some days alongside his wife, Laura, and members of his entourage have reportedly been sitting in the court galleries. The woman, allegedly indecently assaulted, said she had complimented his “I am Spartacus’ T-shirt before showing him where the toilets were at an MTV site. She told the court last week: “This person went from someone quite jovial and friendly to suddenly turning into this wild-eyed maniac trying to pull me into the toilets. "He grabbed me by the arm and started to pull me in saying, ‘Come on, come in with me’. I was trying to pull myself away. I said to him, ‘What are you doing? Are you mad? Let me go’.” The woman said the incident lasted about 20 seconds. Asked how she felt afterwards, she said: “Bewildered, confused, what the hell happened there.” The woman, who gave evidence from behind a screen, said she reported the incident to colleagues, who she says told her: “Well, he’s crazy.” But she said she never reported it to bosses. She added: “The reason I didn’t was because I was scared. I got away, I thought it would be my word against him. He was a big asset to MTV.” The woman later went to police in 2023 after watching a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary about Brand. She said: “It came back to me and I thought, ‘This is not just me’.” The woman was challenged by Brand’s lawyer Ian Winter KC that she only came forward and decided Brand had been trying to attack her rather than pull her in for a consensual encounter after watching the TV show. She said: “I don’t think it’s quite as straight-forward as that. I came away relatively unscathed. He didn’t manage to rape me.” Pushed that Brand was seeking a consensual encounter, she said: “No, not really, because you don’t drag someone by the arm. His eyes were wild. When I showed him where the toilet was his demeanour changed. I used a description to say his eyes looked manic, which they did.” His former flatmate Andrew Dobson said the ex-comic, who is accused of raping a woman after a fringe event at the Labour Party conference in 1999, had a huge preoccupation with sex. Mr Dobson composed music for a show and Brand was in the fringe Soapbox Cabaret at the Bournemouth conference. He recalled Brand did not return to the guesthouse after the final night. He said: “We saw Russell the next morning. Russell came in and there was suddenly an emergency that we had to leave.” The court was also read a statement by a journalist, who was contacted by the woman after the screening of the C4 show in 2023. She said she had known her for many years. The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told police: “She told me she had seen the news coverage and that she was raped by Russell Brand. "I was extremely shocked.” John Rogers, who was at the conference with Brand, said the presenter told him about an intimate encounter he had with a woman at the event. Mr Rogers said: “He had met up with one of them and they had some form of encounter in a hotel room. It stuck in my mind because I just thought it was a really weird thing to happen.” He added: “His reaction was a bit odd, he was kind of flustered. The whole thing seemed peculiar.” The trial continues.