Russell Brand has been found guilty of raping a young fan he met after one of his Hammersmith Apollo shows. The former comedian closed his eyes as the verdicts were read out at Southwark Crown Court.
Guilty verdicts on multiple counts
He 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 found guilty of sexually assaulting a Channel 4 worker during a forced massage in 2009.
Jurors found Brand guilty of sexually assaulting a Capital Radio worker after encountering her in a corridor in 2005. They also found him guilty of groping another MTV worker during a party at a Soho bar in 2004, but not guilty of going on to orally rape her in a toilet.
Not guilty on other charges
He was found 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 stood upright in the dock and showed limited emotion as the verdicts were delivered. He had earlier stood outside the door of the dock shortly before the jury returned and looked at his wife Laura Gallacher, saying: “Laura, I love you.”
Courtroom reaction
Brand’s security guard hunched over and kissed the pendant round his neck before the jury entered the room. Further details are expected to follow.
