LONDON — Six women have testified in the Russell Brand rape trial, describing alleged assaults spanning a decade as his lawyers challenge their accounts.

Brand, 51, has pleaded not guilty to seven charges involving alleged incidents between 1999 and 2009. The case at London’s Southwark Crown Court includes three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault, according to The Associated Press. He denies engaging in nonconsensual sexual activity.

Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones told jurors the women did not know one another and reported their allegations independently. She urged the jury to assess each account separately, Courthouse News Service reported.

Russell Brand rape trial examines consent

In testimony reported by Reuters on Oct. 21, a woman said Brand raped her at his London home in 2009 after an initially consensual sexual encounter. She told the court that she asked him to stop.

The defense challenged her account, maintaining that the encounter was consensual. She rejected that characterization.

Jurors also heard about subsequent messages between them, including an apology from Brand. The woman said he had treated her “like an animal.” Brand denies the rape allegation.

Earlier allegations involve a hotel and London bar

Another woman testified that Brand raped her in a Bournemouth hotel room in 1999 after they met around the Labour Party conference.

According to ABC News’ courtroom reporting, she had invited him to her room to continue their conversation. Jurors watched a recorded police interview she gave in September 2023, and she answered questions from behind a screen.

Defense lawyer Ian Winter suggested that the encounter had been consensual and that she later regretted it. She rejected that suggestion. The questioning also addressed whether she had told Brand to stop; she maintained that she had and referred to her recorded account.

A separate allegation concerns a 2004 encounter at a London bar. Prosecutors said Brand groped a woman before pulling her toward the bathrooms, where she alleges he orally raped her. That allegation forms part of the prosecution’s case concerning sexual contact that the women say they did not consent to.

Women describe alleged assaults at work

The court has also heard allegations involving women who encountered Brand through their jobs.

A former MTV employee said he grabbed her arm in 2001 and tried to pull her into a men’s bathroom before she broke free. She said she feared she would not be believed and contacted police after the 2023 documentary about Brand. The defense challenged her interpretation of the incident and characterized it as minor, ABC reported.

Another allegation concerns an encounter at Capital Radio in 2004 or 2005. Prosecutors said the woman looked to people accompanying Brand for help during the alleged assault, but they did not intervene. She eventually pushed him away.

A sixth woman alleges unwanted sexual contact during a work assignment in 2009. Prosecutors said Brand demanded a massage as a condition of completing the job. The woman complained at work but felt her concerns were not taken seriously, according to the prosecution’s opening account.

How the case expanded to seven charges

The criminal proceedings follow scrutiny that intensified with a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4’s “Dispatches” in September 2023.

USA Herald covered the allegations and Brand’s denials at the time. The women featured in that reporting should not be assumed to be identical to the six complainants in the current criminal case.

The Crown Prosecution Service authorized the initial charges on April 4, 2025, following a Metropolitan Police investigation. Those charges involved four women and alleged incidents between 1999 and 2005: two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault.

Prosecutors said the police investigation followed the September 2023 media reporting. The charging decision brought allegations that had attracted widespread public attention into criminal proceedings, where Brand could contest the prosecution’s evidence.

On Dec. 23, 2025, the CPS authorized two additional charges: one count of rape and one count of sexual assault involving two additional women. Both alleged incidents occurred in 2009, bringing the case to seven charges involving six complainants.

The women are entitled to lifelong anonymity under British law.

Separate BBC review examined complaint handling

Brand’s conduct has also prompted scrutiny of how employers responded to concerns about him.

A BBC review published in January 2025 examined complaints relating to his work at BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music between 2006 and 2008. It considered eight complaints, two of which had been raised while Brand was working for the broadcaster, according to ITV News’ reporting on the findings.

The review found that some people felt unable to raise concerns and believed Brand would get his way. It also identified failures in the handling of a formal complaint made in 2007.

The BBC apologized to those affected and acknowledged shortcomings in its response. It said it had since changed its complaints procedures and measures for addressing bullying and harassment.

That workplace review was separate from the criminal prosecution and did not determine whether Brand committed the offenses now before the jury.

The trial continues. Brand has denied all seven charges, and no verdict has been reached.