Russell Brand says no friends will testify for him at rape trial
The comedian, on trial at Southwark Crown Court over alleged rapes and sexual assaults spanning a decade, told the court he has no defence witnesses and that people are unwilling to be associated with him. He denies all charges.
Russell Brand has told Southwark Crown Court that he has no defence witnesses to call, saying that friends and former colleagues are unwilling to be seen supporting him. The former comedian, who is standing trial on charges of rape and sexual assault, said that « no one will touch him with a barge pole ». He denies all of the allegations against him.
Brand, 51, has been charged with three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of attempted indecent assault. The alleged offences span roughly ten years. He addressed the court from the witness box, beginning his evidence by describing the allegations against him as « devastating ». Reports from the courtroom indicate that the prosecution has moved through the counts one by one, questioning him on each in turn. One count concerns a woman who alleges that Brand sexually assaulted her when she was in her twenties and working at a radio station in 2004 or 2005. Prosecution counsel asked him whether he had « sloppily kissed » that woman, a question put to him as the court reached that charge.
The absence of defence witnesses is a notable point in a case that has drawn intense public attention since the allegations first emerged in a television documentary and in newspaper reporting. Brand has previously said he was shocked by the claims and has consistently rejected them. In giving evidence he framed his situation as one in which his former circle has distanced itself, a claim the court will weigh alongside the evidence presented by both sides.
The trial is being heard at Southwark Crown Court in London, and the jury will decide whether the prosecution has proved each count beyond reasonable doubt. Brand's account of his own circumstances, given from the witness box, is one part of a process that will continue as the remaining counts are put to him and as the prosecution and defence present their cases. Any verdict on individual counts will be reached only after the jury has considered the full body of evidence, including the testimony of the complainants and the answers Brand has given under questioning.
7
