LONDON (AP) — Actor-comedian Russell Model mentioned allegations of sexual misconduct have had a “devastating” influence on his life, as he testified in court docket Wednesday at his trial on expenses of rape and sexual assault.
Model entered Southwark Crown Courtroom alongside his spouse, Laura Gallacher, telling reporters that “at the moment is the day for fact and justice.”
Model, 51, stood within the witness field and took the oath, then gave his full identify: Russell Edward Model. He answered “no” to every of the fees: three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one depend of tried indecent assault.
Questioned by his lawyer, Ian Winter, Model mentioned the allegations had a “devastating” influence, with mates and colleagues abandoning him. He mentioned nobody with related proof had been keen to testify in court docket on his behalf.
“My whole life has been consumed by these occasions, these allegations, these accusations,” he mentioned.
Model mentioned he was even forbidden from staying together with his child son in hospital after nameless allegations of sexual misconduct have been made in opposition to him in a newspaper and a TV documentary in 2023.
“The rationale given by Nice Ormond Road Hospital when my son was receiving open coronary heart surgical procedure and subsequent therapy was as a result of materials printed,” he mentioned.
Over the previous two weeks of the trial, prosecutors have set out their case, and the jury heard from six girls who accuse Model of sexual misconduct between 1999 and 2009.
Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones informed jurors that Model was “ruthless, he was calculating, he was manipulative. And, the prosecution mentioned, he was a sexual predator.”
Because the protection legal professional requested Model about every of the alleged incidents, which his accusers mentioned came about in areas together with a lodge room, the places of work of MTV and the bathroom of a London bar, he denied forcing girls to do something in opposition to their will.
“Consent is prime, important, essential, and certainly in some ways extra necessary than intercourse itself,” Model mentioned.
Recognized for risqué stand-up routines and battles with medicine and alcohol, Model rose to prominence within the early 2000s, internet hosting tv applications and his personal BBC radio present.
He appeared in Hollywood movies together with “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him to the Greek” and was briefly married to pop star Katy Perry.
In recent times, he has moved away from mainstream media, relocated to Florida, and constructed a big on-line following with movies mixing wellness, conspiracy theories, and discussions of his non secular devotion.
