The sentencing hearing of convicted sex offender Russell Brand is under way at London's Southwark Crown Court, where Mr Justice Bennatham is presiding. The 51-year-old comedian and actor was convicted on Thursday following a four-week trial of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others between 2004 and 2009. The judge told Brand he should expect a "significant custodial term" and remanded him in custody, refusing a bail application from his lawyers.
Convictions and Acquittals
A jury found Brand guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault after deliberating for eight and a half hours. He was cleared of two further counts of rape and one charge of attempted indecent assault.
The offences for which Brand was convicted include raping a 21-year-old woman after meeting her at a stand-up show at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2009, kissing and groping a Capital Radio worker in a corridor in 2005, sexually assaulting a Channel 4 worker who was forced to give him a massage in 2009, and groping an MTV worker during a party at a Soho bar in 2004.
Details of the Case
Brand was acquitted of raping the MTV worker in a toilet during the same incident. The jury also cleared him of raping a woman he met at a cabaret show on the fringes of the 1999 Labour Party conference in Bournemouth. He was also found not guilty of attempting to drag another MTV worker into a toilet to indecently assault her in 2001.
Rape carries a prison term of four to 19 years, while sexual assault can range from a community order to 10 years in prison. The sentencing hearing is ongoing.
