pleads

Feb. 24 (UPI) — Actor and comedian Russell Brand pleaded not guilty to two additional sexual charges in a British court Tuesday, including one for rape.

Brand, 50, was charged in December with the rape and sexual assault of two women, which allegedly happened in 2009. He appeared at Southwark Crown Court for the plea and trial preparation hearing.

He has pleaded not guilty charges of two counts of rape, one charge of indecent assault and two counts of sexual assault for offenses against four women that happened between 1999 and 2005.

He appeared Tuesday in a glass-paneled dock carrying a Bible stuffed with sticky notes. He spoke to confirm his name and plea.

Judge Joel Nathan Bennathan said, “Mr. Brand I’m sure you’ve heard everything we’ve been talking about. I will renew your bail.”

Bennathan asked if Brand understood his bail conditions, and Brand replied, “Yes, your lordship.”

His trial on the other five charges is expected later this year.

Brand has previously denied all allegations against him.

He is also a defendant in a civil case that alleges he sexually assaulted an anonymous plaintiff on the set of the remake movie “Arthur” in 2010.

Brand was married to singer Katy Perry from October 2010 to December 2011. He is now married to Laura Gallacher, who is the mother of Brand’s two daughters and a son.

Appearing in a London court, Brand denies accusations of raping one woman ​and sexually assaulting another in 2009.

British comedian and actor Russell Brand ⁠has pleaded not guilty to two further charges of rape and sexual assault nearly ⁠two decades ago.

Brand appeared at Southwark Crown ⁠Court in London on Tuesday and denied accusations of raping one woman and sexually assaulting a second woman in 2009.

Once one of the United Kingdom’s most high-profile broadcasters, he was charged last year with two counts of rape, one count of indecent assault and two ‌counts of sexual assault against four women between 1999 and 2005.

Brand pleaded not guilty in May last year to those five charges and is due to stand trial in June. A hearing will be held next month to decide whether the new allegations should be joined to that case, with Brand’s lawyer ⁠saying his client needs more time to address ⁠the latest offences.

“These new charges are in relation to two further women and are in addition to the charges issued to Brand in April 2025, which involved four women,” London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement in December.

Brand, 50, arrived at court wearing a white cowboy hat and sunglasses. Asked how he was feeling, the actor, who said in 2024 he had become ⁠a Christian, told reporters he was feeling “blessed”.

Born in 1975 to working-class parents in Essex, east of London, Brand began his stand-up career as a teenager, eventually working as an MTV presenter and host of a reality TV series.

A regular on British screens in the ⁠2000s, he was known for his flamboyant ⁠style and appearance. He also worked as a radio presenter for the BBC.

Brand starred in several films, including Get Him to the Greek in 2010, the ‌same year he married American pop star Katy Perry. They divorced in 2012 after 14 months of marriage.

By the early 2020s, Brand had faded from ‌mainstream ‌culture and has since largely appeared online, airing his views on US politics and free speech.

Feb. 16 (UPI) — Savannah Guthrie urged the person who allegedly kidnapped her mother to “do the right thing” as the search for Nancy Guthrie continues into its third week.

In a brief video posted to Instagram on Sunday, the Today show host said she wanted to say publicly that she and her family “still have hope” that their mother is still alive and that she wanted to tell whoever has the 84-year-old woman that there is still time to return her.

“I wanted to say to whoever has her or knows where she is that it’s never too late,” she said. “And you’re not lost or alone and it’s never too late to do the right thing. And we are here. We believe. And we believe in the essential goodness of every human being. And it’s never too late.”

Nancy Guthrie was last seen the night of Jan. 31 and was reported missing the next day after she failed to arrive at a friend’s house to watch an online stream of a church service.

Authorities have released images of a person captured tampering with the doorbell of Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson, Ariz., home. They have offered a $100,000 reward for information that leads to the woman’s recovery.

Late last week, authorities said DNA that does not belong to Nancy Guthrie or anyone close to her was discovered at her home, and that investigators were working to identify who it belongs to.

The FBI said in a statement the DNA was retrieved from one of about 16 gloves collected by investigators near Nancy Guthrie’s house.

The glove that contained the unknown DNA appears to match the gloves worn by the subject seen in the doorbell footage, according to the FBI.

New England Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs has pleaded not guilty to felony strangulation and other criminal charges in connection with an alleged dispute with his private chef over money she said he owed her for her services.

Five days after playing in Super Bowl LX, Diggs appeared for his arraignment Friday morning at Massachusetts’s Dedham District Court. The four-time Pro Bowl player stood and was attentive but did not speak during the hearing, which lasted less than two minutes.

After attorney Michael Schuster entered the not-guilty plea on behalf of his client, Diggs was released on his own recognizance and ordered to have no contact with his accuser. A pretrial hearing was set for April 1.

“He is completely innocent of these false allegations that have been alleged against him,” Schuster told reporters outside the courthouse after the hearing. “We are confident that after the facts and evidence are reviewed in this case, he will be completely exonerated. … When they are presented it will paint a very different picture and we’re very confident that he will be exonerated.”

Diggs did not speak to reporters.

The alleged incident is said to have occurred at Diggs’ house Dec. 2. His accuser reported it to Dedham police two weeks later, according to court records, stating that Diggs had “smacked her across the face”and “tried to choke her using the crook of his elbow around her neck.”

Diggs was charged with felony strangulation or suffocation and misdemeanor assault and battery at a court hearing Dec. 30.

The arraignment hearing was originally scheduled for Jan. 23 but was postponed until after the Super Bowl. Diggs had three catches for 37 yards in the Patriots’ 29-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The youngest brother of late NFL star and U.S. Army Ranger Pat Tillman pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to setting fire to a Northern California post office last summer.

Richard Tillman, a 44-year-old San Jose resident, was arrested July 20 in connection with a fire at the Almaden Valley post office and charged with malicious destruction of government property.

“In pleading guilty, Tillman admitted that he intentionally set the fire in order to ‘make a point to the United States government,’” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California said in a statement.

It remains unclear what point Tillman was trying to make.

Tillman was accused of backing his vehicle through the front door of the post office during the early morning on July 20 and setting the vehicle ablaze after exiting it. Tillman had loaded the vehicle with fire logs and doused it with lighter fluid, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. The fire quickly spread to the post office, completely destroying the lobby. No one was injured.

U.S. Postal Inspector Shannon Roark said in July that Tillman told officers at the scene that he had livestreamed the incident on YouTube.

Tillman is in federal custody and is scheduled to be sentenced at an April 27 hearing. He faces a minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years, as well as a $250,000 fine.

In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, Pat Tillman walked away from a three-year, $3.6-million contract offer from the Arizona Cardinals and enlisted in the Army, along with his younger brother, Kevin.

On April 22, 2004, Pat Tillman was killed by friendly fire in the province of Khost, Afghanistan. He was 27.

Following the post office fire last year, Kevin Tillman released a statement.

“Our family is aware that my brother Richard has been arrested. First and foremost, we are relieved that no one was physically harmed,” Kevin Tillman said. “ … To be clear, it’s no secret that Richard has been battling severe mental health issues for many years. He has been livestreaming, what I’ll call, his altered self on social media for anyone to witness.

“Unfortunately, securing the proper care and support for him has proven incredibly difficult — or rather, impossible. As a result, none of this is as shocking as it should be.”

Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s son has pleaded not guilty to four rape charges as his trial opens in Oslo. Marius Borg Hoiby faces 38 counts, including assault and domestic violence, in a case that has shaken Norway’s royal family.

Feb. 3 (UPI) — Marius Borg Høiby, son of the crown princess of Norway, pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape in his trial that began Tuesday in an Oslo courtroom.

Høiby, 29, is facing 38 charges, including abuse in close relationships and filming women’s genitals without their knowledge. He pleaded guilty to some charges, including sexually offensive behavior, violation of a restraining order and some driving-related charges. He pleaded partially guilty to serious bodily harm, reckless behavior and violation of a restraining order.

“The defendant is the son of the crown princess. He is part of the royal family. He should still be treated equally like any other person charged with the same offenses. He should not be treated more severely or more leniently because of those with whom he is related,” lead prosecutor Sturla Henriksbø told the court.

“There is no requirement for a prosecution request from the victims,” he added. “It is society’s responsibility to prosecute serious crimes, regardless of whether the victim themselves wants it. In several of these cases, it is not the victim who has come to the police and said ‘I have been subjected to something criminal.'”

He was arrested again Sunday for alleged assault, making threats with a knife and violating a restraining order. Oslo police are keeping him in custody until March 2.

Høiby is not an official member of the royal family. His mother, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, married Crown Prince Haakon when Høiby was a young child.

Mette-Marit is facing her own troubles at the moment. Her name shows up more than 1,000 times in the latest dump of Epstein files, showing her close friendship with the late sex offender.

She is also suffering from pulmonary fibrosis and needs a lung transplant.