Russell Brand, found guilty of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others, is reportedly being “monitored around the clock” in prison as he awaits his sentencing hearing on Monday. The 51-year-old spent his first night behind bars following the verdicts delivered at Southwark Crown Court.
First Night in Custody
Brand was remanded in custody after the judge told him he would not be given the opportunity to say goodbye to his children, fearing he would flee rather than appear before the court on Monday for sentencing. Brand loudly replied “yes My Lord”.
Mr Justice Bennathan cautioned him that he faced a “significant custodial sentence”. Jurors unanimously convicted Brand of offences against four women between 2004 and 2009.
Details of the Convictions
He has been found guilty of the rape of a 21-year-old woman he encountered after a comedy performance at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2009. Brand was also convicted of sexually assaulting an MTV employee at a Soho bar, a woman at the Choice FM studios, and a Channel 4 worker who had been instructed to give him a massage.
Brand had faced seven charges in total: three of rape, three of sexual assault and one of attempted indecent assault. He was cleared of raping a woman in a hotel in Bournemouth in 1999, during the Labour Party conference where Brand had been performing at a cabaret show.
The defendant was found not guilty of an attempted indecent assault offence when he was accused of grabbing a woman’s arm and pulling her towards a toilet in 2001 in central London. He was also found not guilty of orally raping a woman in a toilet at a bar in London, an attack alleged to have happened when they had been at a birthday party together in Soho.
Reaction in Court
During proceedings, Brand told his wife Laura Gallacher “Laura, I love you” prior to the guilty verdict being delivered, at which point the former actor displayed no visible reaction beyond closing his eyes. Laura, 39, had to be held up by a security guard while leaving Court Three at Southwark Crown Court after a foreman delivered the jury’s verdicts on Thursday afternoon.
Ms Gallacher later turned her head and body towards a wall and held her hand over her mouth in shock after hearing her husband was being remanded in custody. The verdicts came after eight hours and 30 minutes of deliberations. After the verdicts were confirmed, Brand was escorted from the courtroom and mouthed “I’m OK” several times to his legal team.
Prison Monitoring and Police Response
It has since emerged that Brand is “petrified” about spending his first night behind bars and is reportedly being “monitored around the clock”. A source told The Sun: “The first night for anyone in a jail is really daunting - and Brand was petrified. It will be a massive shock to the system to him and he will be monitored around the clock.” They added: “But he will be relatively safe and watched around the clock by officers and banged up away from other inmates to start with.”
Det Supt Andy Furphy said outside court: “Today's verdict is first and foremost a testament to the extraordinary courage, resilience and determination of the women who came forward and reported what happened to them. Without their bravery, this outcome would not have been possible. Brand used his influence, status and fame to exploit and sexually offend against women. As his profile grew, so too did his sense of entitlement. I hope this conviction sends a clear message that no one is above the law, no matter how famous or powerful they may be.”
