In a shocking turn of events, British prosecutors have slammed additional charges of sexual assault, including one count of rape, against the renowned actor and comedian, Russell Brand. These criminal accusations, announced by the Crown Prosecution Service on Tuesday, stem from separate police reports involving two women dating back to 2009. In total, Brand now faces a staggering six women's allegations of sexual crimes.
Scheduled to appear in court on January 20 at Westminster Magistrates' Court in relation to the new charges—rape and sexual assault—Brand has pled not guilty to the previous charges of one count of rape, one count of indecent assault, one count of oral rape, and two counts of sexual assault, all alleged to have been committed between 1999 and 2005.
The alleged crimes span from a 1999 rape in the Bournemouth area of the UK, to a 2001 indecent assault of a woman in Westminster, London, to the 2004 oral rape and sexual assault of another woman in the same district, and finally, the sexual assault of a woman in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.
In a social media post when the charges were first announced, Brand vehemently denied ever having committed any form of non-consensual activity. "I've never engaged in non-consensual activity," he declared. He further added, "We're very fortunate in a way to live in a time when there's so little trust in the British government. We're very fortunate, I suppose, that this is happening at a time where we know that the law has become a kind of weapon to be used against people, institutions, and sometimes entire nations that will not accept levels of corruption."
The investigation into these alleged crimes began in 2023 after receiving a number of allegations that followed reporting by Channel 4's Dispatches and The Sunday Times. One of the women even stated that Brand entered into a relationship with her when he was 31 and she was just 16.
Currently residing in Florida and no longer living in the UK, Brand's trial is scheduled to commence in June.
