A jury has been sworn in for the trial of Russell Brand, who faces rape and sexual assault charges, as the case moves into its second day at Southwark crown court in London, Guardian Media reports.
Eight men and four women took the jurors’ oath on Tuesday. The trial is expected to run for six weeks.
Brand, 51, is charged with three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault. The allegations involve six women and cover a period of 10 years, from 1999 to 2009. He denies every charge.
The jury panel was dismissed until Wednesday morning, when prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC is expected to open the prosecution case. A reserve juror was also chosen to attend the opening.
Selection of the jury had started on Monday morning, when Mr Justice Bennathan, the trial judge, warned the panel to disregard earlier media coverage of Brand and of sexual misconduct allegations.
Addressing the jurors again on Tuesday, the judge instructed them not to talk about the case among themselves or to look into it themselves. “Heaven knows what’s out there,” Bennathan said, adding that they were free to examine such material only after they had delivered their verdicts.
Brand reached the court shortly after 9.20am. Towards photographers and reporters he said, “blessed, thank you very much.”
He was dressed in a grey double-breasted suit, a shirt left unbuttoned beneath a long tie, brown boots and sunglasses. Walking with a security guard at his side, he faced the cameras and removed the sunglasses as he climbed the steps of the central London courthouse.
His wife, Laura Gallacher, who had been with him on Monday for the first day of proceedings, was not present on Tuesday morning.
Brand rose to prominence as a British television personality during the 2000s, fronting programmes and events including the 2007 Brit awards, Comic Relief and the MTV video music awards, and presenting his own show on BBC Radio 2.
He later appeared in Hollywood films, among them the comedy Get Him to the Greek and the 2012 musical comedy Rock of Ages. From 2010 to 2012 he was married to the American pop singer Katy Perry.
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