Russell Brand pleads not guilty to rape and sexual assault charges

Actor and comedian Russell Brand pleaded not guilty in a London court to rape and sexual assault charges involving four women dating back more than 25 years.

Brand, who turns 50 next week, denied two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault. He said “not guilty” after each charge was read in Southwark Crown Court.

Prosecutors said the offenses took place between 1999 and 2005 – one in the English seaside town of Bournemouth and the other three in London.

Brand did not speak to reporters as he arrived at court wearing dark sunglasses, a suit jacket, a black collared shirt open below his chest and black jeans.

He is accused of raping a woman at a hotel room in Bournemouth when she attended a 1999 Labour Party conference and met him at an event where he was performing. 

A second woman said Brand grabbed her forearm and attempted to drag her into a men’s toilet at a television station in London in 2001.

The third accuser was a television employee who met Brand at a 2004 birthday party where he allegedly grabbed her breasts before pulling her into a toilet and forcing her to perform oral sex.

The final accuser worked at a radio station and met Brand while he was working on a spin-off of the “Big Brother” reality television program between 2004 and 2005. 

British law protects the identity of victims of alleged sexual violence.