Judge says actor and comedian faces ‘significant custodial term’ after being convicted of raping a woman and assaulting three others
Russell Brand has been found guilty of raping a fan and sexually assaulting three women, ending a years-long legal saga that has raised questions about how he was able to commit his crimes at the height of his fame.
Brand, 51, was described during his trial as a ruthless, calculated and manipulative sexual predator. He was accused of raping women in a hotel room, in a bar toilet and at his luxury London townhouse. He sexually assaulted women in front of his entourage at their workplaces, at a radio station and TV studio.
The Hollywood actor turned online influencer was accused of gaslighting his victims after the attacks, and treating women as a “disposable commodity” and a “means to an end” to satisfy his voracious sexual appetite.
It can now be revealed that Brand is under investigation for two further rape allegations and that the Metropolitan police have submitted files to the Crown Prosecution Service.
On Thursday, Brand stood outside the door of the dock shortly before the jury delivered their verdicts and looked at his wife, Laura, saying: “Laura, I love you.”
Wearing a grey three-piece suit, he appeared to be praying in the dock before he was convicted of four offences on Thursday after a four-week trial at Southwark crown court.
He had pleaded not guilty to three charges of rape, three of sexual assault and one of attempted indecent assault against six women, in allegations spanning 10 years from 1999.
Brand had claimed he could not remember some of the incidents, and that others had been consensual sexual encounters that had been “reimagined” or “unfavourably reframed” after the publication of sexual misconduct allegations against him in a 2023 Channel 4 Dispatches documentary, and Times and Sunday Times reports.
Brand closed his eyes as a jury found him guilty of four offences against four women after eight hours and 30 minutes of deliberations. He was cleared of two counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault.
The judge, Mr Justice Bennathan, praised the panel of four women and eight men, and told Brand: “You’ve been convicted of a number of offences, including one of rape. The consequence of that is inevitably a significant custodial term. My current view is that I have to therefore remand you in custody.”
Brand held his head high and appeared emotionless as he was led away by the dock officers down to the cells. His wife appeared visibly upset and left the court soon after.
His barrister, Ian Winter KC, made a plea for Brand to be given bail over the weekend as an “act of humanity” so that he could say goodbye to his children, but the judge refused.
Bennathan said he regretted the “hardship” caused to the children but said: “Whatever the good intentions of the family and the defendant today, I think there are substantial grounds to fear he might in the end not feel able to come along and face his sentence.”
As the judge remanded him into custody, Brand made “OK” gestures and said “I’m good, I’m good, I’m good”, before being taken out of the dock.
On Thursday the Met said its investigation into Brand was continuing.
Brand was found guilty of anally raping a young fan at his London townhouse after picking her out from a crowd after one of his gigs at the Hammersmith Apollo in early 2009.
She told the court she begged him to stop but Brand continued. “I felt like I couldn’t speak or breathe, the amount of pain,” she said.
He was also found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman who worked for MTV by grabbing her breasts at a birthday party in Soho, London in 2004. But he was cleared of orally raping the woman in a toilet afterwards.
He was also convicted of sexually assaulting a woman who told the court that Brand laughed after squeezing her breasts and kissing her sloppily while she was working at the radio station Choice FM in 2004 or 2005.
Brand was found guilty of sexually assaulting a Channel 4 worker, who said she was “repulsed” when Brand placed his head in her lap so she could feel his breath on her “vagina” during a filming project in 2009.
He was cleared of raping a woman after the Labour party conference in Bournemouth in 1999, and also found not guilty of attempting to indecently assault an MTV worker by trying to drag her into a men’s toilets in 2001.
Brand’s trial heard victims had been haunted by their encounters with the former presenter and that they had bravely come forward to the tell the truth after realising they were not alone.
The prosecutor, Riel Karmy-Jones KC, said they described a similar pattern of behaviour from the comedian that started with compliments, flattery and flirting before a “personality change”. “His eyes changed, he snapped, from charming to frightening to nasty,” she said.
But Brand’s barrister denied the TV personality was a “psychopath who rapes people and thinks it’s normal”. He claimed Brand was respectful when women said no and that being “rude or acting like a crazy idiot” during sex was not a crime if there was consent.
In his closing speech on Monday, the barrister also questioned why Brand’s accusers had not screamed, kicked out or slapped Brand when they were raped. “Not one of them resisted or screamed or even tried to leave,” Winter said.
The barrister also said that the 2023 media reports had “poisoned the well” of justice, and rendered it impossible for Brand to have a fair trial.
Outside the courtroom there was an extraordinary exchange between Winter and the Sunday Times journalist who was involved in the 2023 investigation, Rosamund Urwin.
He said to her: “I hope you are pleased with yourself”, and when she was heard replying: “I’m pleased justice has been done”, Winter responded: “Well, it wasn’t. You fucked it.” He then added: “Congratulations.”
Brand’s case has led to difficult questions for the BBC, Channel 4 and the production companies that worked with him. The TV world is again asking itself whether recent efforts to improve safeguarding will stop similar abuses.
In a statement on Thursday, Channel 4 said: “We recognise the profound impact of these crimes and commend the extraordinary courage of all those who gave evidence as prosecution witnesses at trial.”
Det Supt Andy Furphy from the Met praised the “extraordinary courage, resilience and determination” of Brand’s victims. In a statement, he said: “Despite intense media and public scrutiny, they relived deeply personal and traumatic experiences and placed their trust in us. Without their bravery, this outcome would not have been possible ...
“Finally, I would urge anyone who may have been a victim of rape or serious sexual assault to speak to us.”
Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
