Russell Brand was sentenced to 10 years and six months in jail on Monday after being found guilty of one charge of rape and three charges of sexual assault. The sentence was handed down by Mr Justice Bennathan at Southwark Crown Court.
The judge criticised Brand's "staggering arrogance" and labelled him "a sexual predator". He added: "Whatever women wear, wherever they go, whatever they drink, they retain the right to say no and demand justice in the criminal courts when sexual predators like you, Mr Brand, act without their consent."
How the sentence was calculated
Mr Justice Bennathan sentenced Brand to nine years for one count of rape, to be served consecutively to the sexual assault sentences. The sentences for the sexual assault charges will be served concurrently.
This includes nine months for sexually assaulting a woman at a Soho bar in 2004, 18 months for sexually assaulting a woman at the Choice FM studios in 2005, and eight months for sexually assaulting a woman while working on a Channel 4 project in 2009. The total sentence is 10 years and six months.
Aggravating and mitigating factors
The judge added two years to the starting point for the rape sentence after noting that Brand had forced the victim to "clean" the sheets after the incident. He described the instruction as an "additional humiliation" and cited removing the condom without consent and ejaculating into her as further aggravating factors.
Mr Justice Bennathan reduced the sentence by a year due to mitigating factors, including that Brand had no significant previous convictions apart from a 1995 conviction for cannabis possession. The judge said "good character" should not normally be given "significant weight", but made an exception, reducing the rape sentence from 10 years to nine. Other mitigating factors included that "17 years had passed" since his final offence and the manner in which Brand had lived his life subsequently, including helping those "wrestling with addictions".
Impact and expert reaction
Brand will likely serve around two-thirds of his sentence in custody, as sentencing guidelines suggest offenders jailed for four years or more for serious, violent, or sexual offences will be released at the two-third mark. Once released, he will spend the rest of his sentence on licence and will be on the sex offenders' register for life.
Marcus Johnstone, Managing Director of PCD Solicitors, said: "I was predicting that Mr Brand would be looking at around 9 years in prison, so his overall sentence is slightly higher than I was expecting. Interestingly, however, it is slightly less than the average sentence for rape last year of 10 years and 7 months despite incorporating the months Brand must serve for the sexual assault offences too. The sentence given reflects only minor mitigating factors."
