Russell Brand could face a prison sentence of at least 10 years, according to barrister Eleanor Laws KC, after a jury found him guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault.
The comedian was convicted on Thursday (5 November) and has been remanded in custody. He is due to return to court on Monday (9 November) for sentencing, where the trial judge, Mr Justice Bennathan, has told him to expect a "significant custodial term."
Sentencing Guidelines Explained
Appearing on The Trial podcast, Laws, who specialises in criminal, sexual offences and civil harassment cases, said determining the exact length of the sentence is not straightforward. "There are guidelines and the judge will have to look very carefully at whether particular features were present in the incident," she said.
"For a rape offence, there are a number of starting points depending on what may or may not have happened. It can range from five years to 15 years," Laws added. "I don't know the details of any of the allegations, but the rape could attract a starting point as high as ten years if, for example, there were factors such as an additional humiliation as part of the offence, or if the judge considered there was significant planning."
Multiple Victims and Consecutive Sentences
Laws noted that the judge will also consider the three other sexual assault charges. "If you have a starting point of ten years, say, you have then got to consider that there are three other sexual assaults, three other victims," she said. "The judge will look at what the starting points are for those and again, if there was humiliation in any of them, there may be at the very least a starting point of something like 18 months for one."
Because Brand has been found guilty of multiple charges, Mr Justice Bennathan will also need to decide how the sentences will be served. "Do you make the sentence for each separate victim a consecutive one, which means that you might need to bring the sentence down a little bit to take into account totality?" Laws said. "Or do you say, right, I'm going to deal with the lead offence, the rape offence, and aggravate it up, and then indicate what each would have been worth, but have those sentences run alongside concurrently?"
Remanded in Custody
Brand, 51, who remains under investigation for further allegations made by two other women, spent Thursday night in HMP Wandsworth. After the jury's verdict, he was escorted from Southwark Crown Court to the prison in south-west London and placed in the Care and Separation Unit (CSU). He will return to court on Monday for sentencing.
