Ruthless Predator

A prosecutor told a London jury Wednesday that Russell Brand spent a decade as a ruthless sexual predator who assaulted six women.

Brand, 51, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault, NBC News reported. Six women are involved. The alleged offenses span 1999 to 2009.

At Southwark Crown Court in London, prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones opened the case. The women don't know each other, she told jurors. They were attacked in a hotel room, workplaces, a bar's toilet cubicle and at Brand's home. His desire for sexual contact was "indiscriminate and voracious," she said. In his eyes, just a means to an end.

"He was ruthless, he was calculating, he was manipulative," Karmy-Jones said. "And, the prosecution say, he was a sexual predator."

In the early 2000s, Brand rose to fame as a stand-up comedian, hosting a BBC radio show and British TV programs before moving into Hollywood films including "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and "Get Him to the Greek." He later stepped back from mainstream media and settled in Florida, where he built a large online following with videos on wellness, conspiracy theories and his religious faith.

British law bars naming the six accusers for life. NBC News noted that the Associated Press follows the same practice in its own coverage of sexual violence cases.

Photographers and video journalists crowded around Brand as he arrived at court Wednesday, just as the prosecution's opening statement got underway. He is on bail. The trial is set to continue at Southwark Crown Court.

"I feel, of course, concerned but hopeful that this process will lead to good outcomes for everybody involved," Brand told reporters outside court. "That's my prayer."