Woman says she ‘closed eyes and tried not to be there’ during alleged Russell Brand rape
Developing story first seen 2 hours ago
New evidence in Russell Brand’s trial includes a recorded police interview in which a woman described an alleged rape in a Soho bar toilet in 2004. She told an officer that she closed her eyes and tried not to be present during the incident, which she said followed Brand grabbing her breasts as they spoke about his television work.
The woman said Brand pulled her towards the toilets, where the floor was flooded, and that she told him she did not want to continue. She recalled him suggesting afterwards that they exchange numbers, as if nothing had happened. Brand denies seven charges, including three counts of rape, and says any sexual contact was consensual; the allegations from six women cover 1999 to 2009, and the trial is expected to last six weeks.
- A woman described an alleged rape in a police interview shown to the jury.
- She said the incident followed an alleged breast-grabbing in 2004.
- Brand denies all seven charges and says any contact was consensual.