Culture & Media
Russell Brand convicted of rape and three sexual assaults
The jury found Brand guilty on four counts involving four women and acquitted him on three other counts; he denied the charges.
Executive summary
- A jury at Southwark Crown Court unanimously convicted Russell Brand on Thursday of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault after a four-week trial. The offenses concerned four women and took place between 2004 and 2009, prosecutors said. [1][2][1][2]
- Brand was acquitted of two other rape counts and one count of attempted indecent assault. He denied all the charges and said the sexual encounters were consensual. [3][4][3][4]
- Judge Joel Bennathan denied bail and said Brand would receive a prison sentence. Sentencing is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 9. [2][3][2][3]
A jury at Southwark Crown Court unanimously convicted comedian and actor Russell Brand on Thursday of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault after a four-week trial. The offenses involved four women and took place between 2004 and 2009, the Crown Prosecution Service said. [1][2][1][2]
Judge Joel Bennathan denied Brand bail, citing a risk that he might flee, and said he would receive a significant prison term, the Associated Press reported. The court set sentencing for Monday, Nov. 9. [3][3]
The charges spanned 1999 to 2009, but the four convictions concerned incidents from 2004 to 2009, the Associated Press reported. They included sexual assaults at a London bar in 2004, at a radio station around 2004 or 2005, and during an advertisement recording in 2009, as well as a rape at Brand’s home in 2009. The jury acquitted him of two other rape counts and attempted indecent assault. [3][4][3][4]
The seven charges involved six women, AP reported. British law gives complainants in sexual-offense cases lifelong anonymity, and AP did not identify them. The CPS said the four convictions concerned four women. [1][5][1][5]
Brand’s lawyers argued that the complainants’ accounts were weakened by the years before they went to police and by the 2023 documentary that carried anonymous allegations about him, AP reported. The CPS said the program prompted women to come forward independently and for their own reasons. Brand denied the charges and testified that his sexual encounters were consensual. [1][3][6][1][3][6]
The Met said the offenses were reported years after they occurred and that investigators had no CCTV or forensic evidence to work with; digital inquiries were limited by the passage of time. Detectives said they traced more than 100 witnesses, took over 400 statements, reviewed more than 1,400 documents and built timelines using historical floor plans and photographs. [2][2]
After the verdict, police said they had provided prosecutors with a file concerning two additional rape allegations. The allegations were separate from the charges decided at Thursday’s trial. [3][4][3][4]
Brand rose to prominence as a television and radio presenter before appearing in Hollywood films. He testified during the trial, acknowledged a history of promiscuity and said he had never forced anyone into sexual activity, AP reported. [3][3]