Russell Brand Convicted of Rape and Three Sexual Assaults in London

Warning: This article discusses allegations of sexual assault that some readers may find distressing.

The verdicts leave Russell Brand facing a significant prison sentence and renewed scrutiny of allegations still under police investigation. A jury at Southwark Crown Court found the comedian and actor guilty of rape and three counts of sexual assault after eight and a half hours of deliberation. He was acquitted of two further rape charges and attempted indecent assault.

Four convictions, three acquittals

The charges concerned six women and alleged offences in the United Kingdom between 1999 and 2009. The rape conviction relates to a woman Brand met after his 2009 show, Scandalous, at the Hammersmith Apollo. She later went to his home for consensual sex, but told the court he then went further without her consent and continued after she asked him to stop.

The three sexual assault convictions relate to separate encounters: one with a woman Brand met in a bar in 2004, one involving a woman at a radio station around that time, and one involving a woman he worked with on a Channel 4 project in 2009.

Brand denied all the offences. During a police interview in 2023, he described the allegations as “invented or re-imagined”. He told officers he had lived a “very promiscuous life” and had “never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity”. In court, he said he had been “obsessed” with sex but again denied any non-consensual conduct.

Judge Joel Bennathan told the jury, made up of four women and eight men, that consent was the “million-dollar question” before deliberations began.

Custody and sentencing

Bennathan revoked Brand’s bail after the rape conviction, saying it would “inevitably” bring a significant custodial sentence. Brand stood motionless as the verdicts were read. His wife, Laura, who had attended most days of the trial, was in tears.

As court officers led him away, Brand gave his legal team a thumbs-up and an OK hand signal. He is due to be sentenced on Monday.

Brand was among the United Kingdom’s most prominent comedians, presenters and actors during the 2000s. The prosecution characterized him at trial as a “ruthless, calculated and manipulative sexual predator” who treated women as a “means to an end”.

All six complainants gave evidence and were cross-examined from behind a screen; UK law protects their identities for life. The jury also heard their police interviews. The women did not know one another and came forward independently after a 2023 documentary and news reports raised allegations about Brand. He spent a day giving evidence.

Police inquiries continue

The verdicts do not resolve two other rape allegations. London’s Metropolitan Police said its investigation remains active and that Brand had previously been interviewed under caution. No charges have been laid in those cases.

Police said they had sent files concerning both women to the Crown Prosecution Service and were in close contact with prosecutors while further investigative work continued. Detectives have asked anyone with relevant information to come forward.

Police and prosecutors respond

The Metropolitan Police called the verdict a testament to the “extraordinary courage, resilience and determination” of the women who reported their experiences. Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy said Brand had used his fame and influence to exploit women, adding that his sense of entitlement grew with his profile.

Senior Crown Prosecutor David Roberts described Brand as “predatory” and said the assaults involved an abuse of power and disregard for consent and the impact on those affected. The conviction marks the conclusion of this trial; the separate police inquiries remain underway.