Russell Brand has been denied bail after being found guilty of rape and three sexual assaults. The 51-year-old was remanded into custody at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday, with sentencing scheduled for Monday.
As the judge ordered his remand, Brand signalled to his defence team that he was unharmed, making okay gestures and repeatedly saying the words “I’m good, I’m good, I’m good” before being taken out of the dock.
Defence appeal for bail
Brand’s barrister, Ian Winter KC, appealed for bail ahead of sentencing as an “act of humanity”. He noted that one of Brand’s children had celebrated their birthday on Wednesday and is not yet aware of the convictions. Winter requested bail for Brand to “put his affairs in order and in particular to say goodbye to his three young children”.
The barrister insisted Brand “has not been a flight risk” and would surrender his passport and report to police to secure bail, arguing that “the prospect of him being able to disappear from justice is zero”.
Judge's ruling
The judge acknowledged the hardship to the children, saying: “I regret the hardship caused to the children, of course”, after being told that Brand wanted bail over the weekend to explain the convictions to them. However, he noted that Brand “has considerable resources” and added: “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.”
Convictions and further allegations
Brand was found guilty of raping a 21-year-old fan after meeting her at a 2009 stand-up show at the Hammersmith Apollo. He was also convicted of sexually assaulting a Channel 4 worker during a forced massage in 2009, sexually assaulting a Capital Radio worker after encountering her in a corridor in 2005, and groping another MTV worker during a party at a Soho bar in 2004. He was found not guilty of orally raping the MTV worker in a toilet, not guilty of trying to drag an MTV worker into a toilet to indecently assault her in 2001, and not guilty of raping a woman he met at a cabaret show on the fringes of the 1999 Labour Party conference in Bournemouth.
Brand also faces further rape allegations made by two women, which are under investigation by the Metropolitan Police.
David Roberts, senior crown prosecutor in the London rape and serious sexual assault unit, said: “Russell Brand was predatory and used his celebrity status to commit sexual crimes. He was a manipulator with an insatiable desire to get what he wanted regardless of whether consent was given or not. As his career took off, he seized opportunities to assault the women around him. Although his tactics varied, at the centre of every assault was an abuse of power and sexual greed, with a complete disregard for the impact of his actions. I would like to thank all the women in this case for their courage in coming forward and seeing this sexual abuser brought to justice.”
