Russell Brand has been issued a not guilty verdict on an indecent assault charge after the charge was changed due to "insufficient evidence." The indecent assault charge was altered to attempted indecent assault at the halfway stage of his trial at Southwark Crown Court.
The former comedian is on trial for raping and sexually assaulting a series of women between 1999 and 2009. He faces three counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault, all of which he denies.
Charge Changed Mid-Trial
On Tuesday morning (October 27), Mr Justice Bennathan told jurors they should find Brand not guilty of the indecent assault allegation after concluding "there was insufficient evidence" to support the charge. He also informed the jury that a charge of attempted indecent assault, relating to the same incident in 2001, had been added to the indictment. The change relates to an allegation that Brand grabbed a female MTV worker by the arm and tried to drag her into a toilet.
The trial has so far heard from six women who say they were victims of sexual misconduct by Brand, who told detectives that allegations first made in 2023 following an investigation by The Times, Sunday Times, and Channel 4 are "false."
Defence Case Delayed
Brand's defence case was set to begin on Tuesday but had to be delayed. At the start of the afternoon session, Mr Bennathan apologised to the jury for the "deeply regrettable" delay, telling them the defence case will not start that day. He said documents which "should have been put in a schedule weren't, and we have been taking some time to sort out how much that matters and what we do about it." He also told the jury that the lawyers in court, the complainants, and Brand are not at fault, adding: "You must not blame them for this."
The judge said the prosecution case will conclude on Tuesday afternoon, with legal argument to follow, and the trial is due to continue with the defence case on Wednesday morning.
Brand's Statements to Police
Brand, now 51, was questioned by police four times between November 2023 and July 2025, each time insisting he has "never engaged in any non-consensual sexual activity." In his statements, he detailed kissing hundreds of fans in public, having sex in toilets, and abruptly ending sexual encounters with women once they had finished.
Brand said: "I led a very promiscuous life in the past, which I have spent years openly denouncing. On 16 September 2023, a defamatory and fictitious documentary was broadcast in conjunction with the publication of two national newspapers containing false anonymised allegations which led to unprecedented media reporting. Subsequently, both the media and the police publicly invited additional allegations to be made, which resulted in further encounters being invented or reimagined."
In a police interview in December 2023, Brand said he did not recall the women who had come forward to accuse him, but said: "It is entirely possible that I may have encountered them and that we may have engaged in consensual sexual activity or physical contact that has since been reimagined." He described engaging in "friendly, consensual and warm" interactions with fans, adding: "At live shows, press events, junkets, and book signings I did my best to be accessible, non discriminatory and loving. I spent a lot of time at these events. I have shared kisses with hundreds of members of the public during press events and photos of many such kisses, in front of hundreds of people, are available online."
Addressing one allegation, that he had sexually assaulted and raped an MTV worker during a party at a Soho bar, Brand said it is "likely" he was at the event, but added: "At no point would I have touched (her) breasts unless it was consensual. I have had consensual sex in toilet cubicles during parties. I have never forced anyone into a toilet and I have never forced my penis into anyone's mouth. As I stated at the outset, I have never engaged in any non-consensual sexual activity."
