LONDON — Comedian Russell Brand arrived at a London court Monday for the opening of his trial on charges of rape and sexual assault.
Brand was flanked by security guards and accompanied by his wife, 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 count of indecent assault. The offenses relate to six women and are alleged to have taken place between 1999 and 2009.
He has remained free on bail ahead of his trial.
Prosecutors have said at previous hearings that Brand is accused of raping a woman in a hotel room at a Labour Party conference, grabbing a TV worker’s breasts and forcing her into a sex act in a toilet, and kissing and groping a radio station worker.
Known for risque stand-up routines and battles with drugs and alcohol, Brand was a major star of the early 2000s, with TV hosting jobs, his own BBC radio show and roles in films including “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him to the Greek.”
In recent years he has dropped out of mainstream media, moved to Florida and built a large following online with videos mixing wellness, conspiracy theories and discussions of his religious devotion.
The Associated Press doesn’t name victims of alleged sexual violence, and British law protects their identities from the media for life.