Russell Brand Tells London Jury He Could Not Find Anyone to Testify for Him

Russell Brand took the witness stand on Wednesday at his criminal trial in London, denying all of the accusations against him. He also told the court that he had been unable to persuade anyone to testify in his defense.

Brand was called as the first defense witness by his lawyer, Ian Winter KC, as the defense began presenting its case, Sky News reported. Winter went through the alleged offenses with him one by one, and Brand answered each time with a simple "No."

Questioned about his public profile in the mid-2000s, Brand said his 2010 marriage to Katy Perry brought him "staggering fame." He then said that no one with relevant information had been willing to give evidence for him. "My entire life has been consumed by these allegations," he told Southwark Crown Court. "I have devoted myself to these matters."

The day before, Mr Justice Bennathan lowered one of the seven charges from indecent assault to attempted indecent assault. He told jurors there was "insufficient evidence" concerning an alleged 2001 incident involving an MTV employee. Brand also faces three counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault. He has pleaded not guilty to every charge.

The case involves six female complainants, all of whom have automatic lifelong anonymity under U.K. law. The alleged offenses date from between 1999 and 2009.

Speaking to journalists outside the court, as reported by Sky News, Brand said it would be inappropriate to say much given the circumstances. He added that he was "very grateful that today's a day for truth and justice" and said "we are blessed that as yet we have a system that can accommodate such things."

The prosecution spent the previous two weeks presenting its case. In her opening statement, Riel Karmy-Jones KC set out each allegation and described Brand as "ruthless and calculated," with an "indiscriminate and voracious" desire for sexual contact.

The first complainant alleges he raped her at the 1999 Labour Party conference in Bournemouth, after asking her to photograph him half-naked. The second, a woman working at MTV in 2001, says Brand grabbed her and tried to pull her into a toilet. The third alleges he squeezed her breasts at a party in Soho in 2004 and then orally raped her in a toilet.

The fourth allegation relates to Capital Radio in 2004 or 2005, where prosecutors say Brand pushed a woman against a wall and "aggressively" kissed her while grabbing "her body, at her breasts, sides and buttocks." The fifth woman alleges he anally raped her in 2009 after consensual vaginal sex. The sixth says Brand demanded a massage from her while she was on a work assignment in 2009.

The trial is due to continue on Thursday.