Katy Perry‘s name was nearly introduced during Russell Brand‘s rape trial — but prosecutors ultimately decided to spike the idea of discussing the ex-couple’s marriage as part of their opening statement … after he raised objections.

Citing pre-trial proceedings, The Telegraph reports that prosecutors wanted to mention Russell’s relationship with Katy in their opening statement.

But Russell’s defense attorneys were able to successfully block prosecutors from uttering Katy’s name and referencing her relationship to him because the details were irrelevant to the case.

As you may know, Russell tied the knot with Katy in October 2010 … he filed for divorce in December 2011 … and in July 2012 the divorce was finalized.

On Thursday … Russell was found guilty of raping a young fan and sexually assaulting 3 women after a 4-week trial at London’s Southwark Crown Court.