Former comedian Russell Brand has been jailed for 10 years and six months after being found guilty of rape and sexual assault. Brand, 51, was convicted of raping a woman in 2009 as well as sexually assaulting female TV and radio workers between 2004 and 2009.
He was remanded to prison immediately following the guilty verdicts at Southwark Crown Court last week. Mr Justice Bennathan warned Brand he would be facing a substantial custodial sentence.
Court reactions and trial background
Brand's wife Laura Gallacher departed court in tears following the verdict. Meanwhile the disgraced performer was observed mouthing "I'm OK" to his legal team as he was escorted to the cells.
A four-week trial heard how Brand targeted women he met during his prominent TV and radio career. Brand, who was briefly married to pop star Katy Perry, maintained he had only ever engaged in consensual sex during a "promiscuous" life.
He did however acknowledge his life had been filled with "idiocy", while insisting he had committed no criminal acts. His victims however painted a contrasting picture of Brand, reports MyLondon.
Victim testimonies
They described a celebrated and influential figure who kissed and groped women within moments of encountering them. Brand is alleged to have pursued his sexual desires relentlessly, gaslighting and mocking women following his attacks.
Associates and former colleagues spoke of his ambition to sleep with 5,000 women, an "insane" sexual appetite, and his poor treatment of women becoming "normalised" as he achieved stardom. Brand was found guilty by the jury of raping a 21-year-old fan in 2009.
He is reported to have encountered the woman after one of his stand-up performances at the Hammersmith Apollo. The woman informed jurors she was an enormous admirer of Brand and had consensually participated in a threesome with him backstage, despite being in a relationship at the time. She stated she consented to visit Brand's Hampstead residence for sex several days afterwards, but the encounter became rape when the comedian coerced the woman into anal sex.
Another woman described to the court how her breasts were groped in a Soho bar mere seconds after meeting Brand in 2004. She remembered the former comedian's "weird" grin as he perpetrated the assault, audaciously grabbing her in the centre of a bar.
In 2005, Brand kissed and groped a third woman during a visit to the Capital Radio studios in London, ambushing her as she exited a room. She remembered looking towards Brand's entourage for assistance, but nobody intervened and she was forced to push the comic away herself.
Brand was also found guilty of placing his head into the groin of a female Channel 4 employee after she was compelled to give him a massage in 2009. The woman told the court Brand had declined to proceed with a recording session until she massaged him, with members of his entourage reportedly having encouraged it.
Defence and further investigations
Brand, who maintained he was the victim of a media conspiracy, was also confronted with passages from his 2007 book, My Booky Wood, in which he boasted he would not relent his pursuit of sex before getting his "birthright orgasm".
He was convicted by a jury of rape and three sexual assaults, but cleared of two further charges of rape and one allegation of attempted indecent assault. The Metropolitan Police has since confirmed Brand is currently under investigation over two additional rape allegations.
Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said his officers are braced for "many, many more" potential victims of Brand to come forward, while Prime Minister Andy Burnham described Brand's crimes as "horrifying". Meanwhile, Victims Commissioner Claire Waxman has called for judges to be given a new legal obligation to direct juries on rape myths should they arise during a trial.
The demand followed Brand's barrister, Ian Winter KC, presenting arguments that the comedian could not be considered a rapist as his accusers had neither screamed, fought back, nor fled while being attacked. In a separate incident following the guilty verdicts, Mr Winter was also observed verbally abusing Sunday Times journalist Rosamund Urwin in the courthouse corridor.
Ms Urwin was among the journalists who originally exposed Brand as a sexual predator, and a cornerstone of Brand's defence strategy had been that media coverage had contaminated the evidence presented during the criminal trial. Mr Winter announced on Friday that he had self-referred himself to the Bar Standards Board following media reports of the incident at court.
Brand, who commands millions of online followers and had continued broadcasting his Christian sermons during the trial, has now spent four nights in prison since the conclusion of proceedings.
