Russell Brand's former flatmate has said he witnessed the disgraced comedian commit more crimes and is appealing to other potential victims to come forward. Mark Pinheiro, who lived with Brand in London for around 16 months from the end of 1999, was the first to give evidence at the entertainer's trial.
Pinheiro, a one-time friend, says he is willing to support women who come forward. He claims he once saw Brand, now serving 10 and a half years for rape and sex assaults, try to drag a woman into his bedroom against her will.
Appeal to potential victims
Urging victims to contact police, Pinheiro said: “If you’re out there and you’re listening and you want to come forward, do come forward and I will support you. I’ll say it now as I said it back then, ‘I saw what happened’. It’s not a he-said she-said argument... there was a third party to bear witness.”
In a direct message to possible victims who may fear they will not be believed, he added: “I support them. I encourage them to come forward.”
Alleged incident witnessed
Pinheiro speaks about the alleged attack he witnessed in the new Netflix documentary, Russell Brand: Open Secret. He says he heard a girl shouting “Let go of me” and “wrestling herself away from him [Brand]”.
He claims: “I open up my door, and I see Russell basically holding on to the girl with both of his hands, gripping hold of her arm trying to pull her back in like a tug of war. And she’s wrestling herself away from him, and then as I switch the light on, the light comes on and he lets go.”
Pinheiro told the Mirror: “There’s so many incidents that I can remember.”
Background and trial
Pinheiro first met Brand in December 1998 and they performed together in a cabaret group. Brand moved in with him at the end of 1999 until early 2001. They drifted apart around 2010 when Brand met pop star Katy Perry, and Pinheiro last saw him during his Messiah Complex tour in 2015.
On Monday, Judge Mr Justice Joel Bennathan sentenced Brand for attacks on four women: a fan he raped at his London home, another he groped in a Soho bar, and two employees he assaulted at Choice FM and Channel 4. The attacks took place between 2004 and 2009. Brand, 51, was cleared of raping a woman in a hotel in Bournemouth in 1999 during the Labour Party conference.
At least six more alleged victims have come forward since Brand's sentencing, and prosecutors are now considering more charges. Some of the cases are believed to date back to when he was hosting Channel 4's Big Brother's Big Mouth in 2006.
