// BBC ENTERTAINMENT & ARTS — MODA & SOCIETÀ
Russell Brand was a 'sexual predator', prosecution alleges as rape trial begins
Watch: Russell Brand arrives at court for rape and sexual assault trial
Russell Brand was described as "ruthless" and a "sexual predator" by the prosecution at the start of his trial for rape and sexual assault on Wednesday.
The 51-year-old actor and comedian faces three counts of rape, three charges of sexual assault and one of indecent assault.
The allegations, made by six female complainants, span a 10-year period between 1999 and 2009. He denies the charges.
Riel Karmy-Jones KC, for the prosecution, told Southwark Crown Court in London the women "did not know each other", "have never met each other" and "came forward independently of each other".
Russell Brand pictured in the dock on Wednesday in a court sketch
The barrister said: "The circumstances of the offending were as wide and as varied as the defendant's career."
She said that "regardless of who the women were and what they said or did, Brand was not deterred".
"His desire, strong desire, for some form of sexual contact was indiscriminate and voracious," she told the court.
The prosecutor told jurors that Brand would be "nice when he wanted to be, funny - undoubtedly - charming, likeable even, when he wanted something in return".