Russell Brand to Appear in Court on Rape and Sexual Assault Charges

The comedian and actor Russell Brand appeared before a London court on Friday on multiple charges of sexual assault, including two counts of rape.

His 14-minute appearance at the court, Westminster Magistrates’, was the first, largely procedural step in what are likely to be lengthy criminal proceedings. It came a month after British prosecutors charged Mr. Brand with one count of rape, one of oral rape, two counts of sexual assault and another of indecent assault.

As the brief hearing began, Mr. Brand, 49, stood inside a plexiglass box in the courtroom, wearing a shirt opened to show his chest and holding a pair of gold-rimmed sunglasses. Mr. Brand confirmed his name, date of birth and British address, then listened, without showing any visible emotion, to details of the charges.

Suki Dhadda, the lead lawyer for the prosecution, said that one woman had accused Mr. Brand of raping her in a hotel room during a British Labour Party conference in 1999. Ms. Dhabba said that another woman had accused Mr. Brand of orally raping her in a bathroom stall at a party.

Another woman, Ms. Dhabba said, accused Mr. Brand of kissing her without her consent while grabbing her breasts and buttocks. The final charge concerned a woman who said Mr. Brand had tried to pull her into a bathroom.

Mr. Brand has denied all of the charges. In a video posted to his social media accounts in April, he said that he had “never engaged in nonconsensual activity” and that he looked forward to defending himself in court.