The jury in Russell Brand's rape and sexual assault trial has retired to deliberate at Southwark Crown Court after the judge completed his summing up. Mr Justice Bennathan directed jurors to their "bundle", a large document containing photographs of the alleged victims and of Brand at the time of the alleged encounters, along with diagrams of the buildings where the alleged attacks took place.
Brand faces seven charges involving six women, with the alleged offences dating from 1999 to 2009. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts. His wife, Laura Gallacher, has supported him throughout the trial, and her father, Ryder Cup-winning golfer Bernard Gallacher, attended court on Monday.
The seven charges in detail
Count 1: Rape. In autumn 1999, Brand allegedly raped a woman at a hotel in Bournemouth after attending a fringe event at the Labour Party conference. The complainant told the court she returned from a visit to the toilet to find him partially undressed and "prancing" around the room, before he allegedly pushed her onto the bed and raped her.
Count 2A: Attempted indecent assault (initial charge of indecent assault reduced). In 2001, Brand allegedly attempted to indecently assault a woman who worked at MTV by grabbing her arm and dragging her towards a male toilet. She told the court she had agreed to show him where the toilets were, but that his "manner changed" at the toilet door. She alleges he grabbed her by the forearm and tried to drag her inside, and that she managed to "wrench" herself away.
Counts 3 and 4: Sexual assault and rape. Both counts relate to the same alleged victim. In the summer of 2004, during a party at a bar in Soho, Brand allegedly grabbed a woman's breasts with a "weird maniacal grin" before pulling her into the toilets where she says he orally raped her. She also told the court that he later took his penis out while they were travelling in a car together and told her to "suck it", laughing when she refused.
Count 5: Sexual assault. In the summer of 2004 or 2005, Brand allegedly sexually assaulted a woman working at Choice FM. She told the court he grabbed her in a "frenzied" manner in "the middle of the working day", "pinning" her against the wall and moving his hands up and down her body in a "violent" way. She said she "pushed him" off and looked towards the people Brand was with – two men and a woman – but they "just did nothing".
Count 6: Rape. In 2009, Brand allegedly anally raped a woman. The complainant told the court she met Brand after watching his comedy gig at the Hammersmith Apollo, after which she gave him consensual oral sex in his dressing room. She described going to his flat the following week and having consensual vaginal sex with him, after which she said he flipped her over onto all fours, removed the condom and raped her anally despite her telling him to stop. She described it as "one of the most painful experiences I have ever gone through" and said she later became addicted to alcohol.
Count 7: Sexual assault. In 2009, Brand allegedly sexually assaulted a woman working on a project for Channel 4. She told the court Brand became "unhappy" while they were working together, and his two male colleagues told her he would only continue if she "gave him a massage". She described him putting his head in her lap, with his nose and mouth in her "vaginal area". She said she felt "shocked" and "repulsed" and later reported the incident to her line manager.
Sentencing guidelines
Under the law in England and Wales, individual charges of rape carry a maximum statutory sentence of life imprisonment, with standard guideline ranges typically spanning 4 to 19 years in custody depending on culpability and harm. For lesser offences such as sexual assault, maximum penalties are significantly lower – typically up to 10 years under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, depending on the specific statutory provision.
If a defendant is convicted on multiple serious counts, a judge determines whether sentences are served concurrently (at the same time) or consecutively (one after the other).
Brand denies all charges. The jury continues its deliberations.
