Russell Brand has been jailed for 10 and a half years at Southwark Crown Court. The sentence was handed down on Monday, November 9, days after he was remanded into custody following his conviction for raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others.
The former comedian and actor, now 51, was found guilty of raping a woman in 2009 and of sexually assaulting female TV and radio workers between 2004 and 2009. He was cleared of two further charges of rape and one allegation of attempted indecent assault.
Brand's wife, Laura Gallacher, left court in tears after the guilty verdicts on Thursday, November 5. Brand was last seen mouthing "I'm OK" to his lawyers before being led to the cells. In court for sentencing, he again mouthed to his wife, telling her "It'll be okay, I don't know how, but it will."
Judge calls Brand a 'sexual predator'
Sentencing, Mr Justice Bennathan told Brand he had become a "sexual predator" as he was starting to become famous. Beginning his remarks, he told the defendant: "About 20 years ago, Russell Brand, you were becoming famous. You were clever – and in many people's eyes, funny and charismatic. You had also become a sexual predator."
The judge said Brand showed "contempt" for his casual sexual partners. Addressing the rape victim, Mr Justice Bennathan said: "If anyone still needs any demonstration for your contempt for your casual sexual partners, you stored her number under 'T' for tart."
He described the attack: "You invited her to your house a few days later, you put on a condom at her request and had vaginal sex to which she consented. You then flipped her over, removed the condom and without asking forced your penis into her anus causing her great pain."
He continued: "She asked you to stop, then asked you again loudly, you replied – and I quote – 'I want you to feel my cum' – you ejaculated, she was distraught and in severe pain, the bed was heavily soiled. You told her it was her mess and made her try to clear it up, thereafter you got up to get ready and went to work."
The offences
Brand was convicted of raping a 21-year-old fan in 2009 after meeting her following one of his stand-up shows at the Hammersmith Apollo. The woman told jurors she was a huge Brand fan and had willingly engaged in a threesome with him backstage despite having a boyfriend at the time. She agreed to go to Brand's Hampstead home for sex a few days later, but a consensual encounter turned into rape when he suddenly forced her into anal sex.
Another woman told the court her breasts were groped by Brand in the Nordic bar in Soho, seconds after she had been introduced to him at a 2004 party. She recalled Brand's "weird" grin as he carried out the sexual assault in the middle of a packed bar.
In 2005, Brand kissed and groped a third woman during a visit to the Capital Radio studios in London, pouncing on her as she walked out of a room. She remembers looking to Brand's entourage for help but no one came to her aid before she managed to push him away.
Brand was also convicted of putting his head into the groin of a female Channel 4 worker after she had been forced to give him a massage in 2009. The woman told the court Brand had refused to continue a recording session unless she massaged him, and members of his entourage encouraged it instead of protecting her.
'Promiscuous' life and victims' statements
During the four-week trial, Brand claimed to have only ever had consensual sex during a "promiscuous" life which, he insisted, had been packed with "idiocy" but never illegal. Ex-colleagues and friends gave evidence of his ambition to sleep with 5,000 women, an "insane" sexual appetite, and his bad behaviour towards women being "normalised" as he became increasingly famous. He was also confronted with his own words from his 2007 book, My Booky Wook, including a boast that he would not relent in his pursuit of sex before getting his "birthright orgasm".
All four women at the centre of the case had impact statements read out in court, with one issuing her statement live in court. The woman assaulted in the Soho bar in 2004 said: "It really affected how I viewed myself, I didn't have any respect for myself and got into situations with toxic men as I didn't have any self-worth. I literally lost any love for myself for a long time thinking that I was damaged goods."
The woman assaulted at Choice FM in 2005 said in a statement read by prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC: "Russell Brand is a sexual predator who has no remorse for how his behaviour has impacted my life. I just hope that he is not allowed to hurt any more women."
The rape victim's statement, also read by Ms Karmy-Jones, said: "Following what happened, I felt anxious, humiliated and overwhelmed. I struggled to eat and sleep, and I found it difficult to cope with my emotions." She added that she had to take time away from work and for a period returned to live with her parents because she did not feel safe. "Even now, I feel that I am living with the trauma of what happened. It is something I carry with me every day and it often feels never-ending."
The Channel 4 worker said the incident "opened my eyes up in a bad way", adding: "I felt I lost my trust in people and felt that my working environment wasn't safe."
Defence submissions and further investigation
Brand, who claimed to be the victim of a media conspiracy, was convicted after his barrister, Ian Winter KC, argued that the comedian could not be a rapist as his accusers had not screamed, fought back or run away when they were attacked. After the guilty verdicts, Mr Winter was seen verbally abusing Sunday Times journalist Rosamund Urwin in the courthouse corridor. Ms Urwin was one of the journalists who first exposed Brand, and a centrepiece of his defence had been that media reporting had tainted the evidence. Winter KC announced on Friday, November 6, that he had self-referred himself to the Bar Standards Board after seeing media reports of the incident.
During the sentencing hearing, Winter KC said the rape incident should only be "regarded as a man who went too far". In his submissions, he said: "This should be regarded as a man who went too far and overrode consent that had been given," adding: "There was no planning, there was no pre-meditation." Mr Justice Bennathan interjected and said there had been no suggestion there was any pre-meditation to the rape.
In the wake of the convictions, the Metropolitan Police revealed that Brand is currently under investigation over two further rape allegations. He spent four nights in HMP Wandsworth after the conclusion of his trial. It is unknown whether he will be sent back to the same prison for his full sentence at this time.
