Russell Brand has been sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison for raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others between 2004 and 2009.
The disgraced comedian and TV star was found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, in offending which happened between 2004 and 2009.
Sentencing and Court Remarks
On Monday afternoon, a judge sentenced him to 10 years and six months in jail as he told him he had "a casual and arrogant disregard for a woman's right to say no".
Before learning his fate, Brand was told by sentencing judge Mr Justice Bennathan: "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."
Victim Impact Statements
As he sat in court this morning, his victims told him directly the devastating impact his offending had had on their lives since. A woman who was sexually assaulted by the comic when he pinned her up against a wall at a radio station described how just hearing his voice or seeing his picture on social media would make her "jump".
The woman he raped at his house after meeting her at one of his stand-up shows in 2009 said Brand's public profile meant he remained present in her life when she wanted to move on. "I would regularly encounter references to him in the media, which made it difficult to escape reminders of what had happened," she said. She had been painted by the defence as an "obsessive fan", which she described as "deeply hurtful".
Brand also assaulted a woman in a Soho bar in 2004. "As his star was rising it was impossible to escape seeing him all over the media, being celebrated for his disgusting behaviour against women like it was all a joke," she told the court, describing how she felt "visibly sick at the sight of him parading around thinking he can get away with anything".
Trial Evidence and Aftermath
During his trial, the court heard excerpts from Brand's 2007 autobiography My Booky Wook. Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC told the court that alongside a picture of himself at the age of seven, he wrote: "This is the exact moment when I decided to act gay to attract girls. It took 15 years to produce results."
In the witness box, Brand denied it when he was asked whether that was something he did to make girls trust him. "It's a joke," he protested. "'Look at me, I'm a little boy in my garden and 15 years later… I was meeting women'. It was a joke."
Police suspect that more victims will now come forward with their own allegations about the disgraced star.
