Russell Brand has been convicted of rape and three counts of sexual assault. The 51-year-old comedian and actor was found guilty by jurors on Thursday afternoon following a four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court.
The Met Police also confirmed it was investigating two further allegations of rape made against Brand — one of which comes from a woman who was 16 years old when the alleged rape happened.
Lengthy custodial sentence expected
Delivering the verdict, Mr Justice Joel Bennathan, who presided over the case, told Brand that he should expect a lengthy custodial sentence. He also denied Brand’s request to be given bail over the weekend so he could say goodbye to his children, fearing that Brand would abscond instead of returning to court.
Brand’s wife, Laura Gallacher — sister to long-term Sky Sports presenter Kirsty Gallacher — was seen looking distressed in the public gallery as Brand was taken down from the dock.
Prison arrangements and sentencing date
Photos emerged of Brand departing from the court in a custodial van as he was taken to a prison cell. The exact prison where Brand spent Thursday night is not confirmed, though it is likely to be either HMC Wandsworth or HMC Belmarsh — two of London’s five large adult male prisons. He is set to be monitored around the clock by guards and will be prohibited from mixing with other inmates.
Brand will likely face between 4 and 19 years imprisonment. An assessment will be made by the judge based on the harm Brand caused to his victims and his culpability in each of the four offences. A whole host of factors will be considered — including those that could aggravate and mitigate the length of his sentence. It is also up to the judge to decide whether Brand should serve the sentences for the four offences concurrently or consecutively.
The judge will hand down Brand’s sentence on Monday — just four days after the verdict was declared by jurors. The court will sit at 10:30am, with the sentence expected to be delivered by the end of the day. It is understood that victim impact statements will be heard by the court during the sentencing hearing.
Which prison will Brand go to?
The prison at which Brand will serve his sentence is yet to be determined. It will only be decided by the UK Prison Service on Monday following his sentence.
The UK Prison Service will evaluate whether Brand is an immediate danger to himself or other prisoners, and the public, before settling on a prison. Many sex offenders in the UK are placed in Vulnerable Prisoner Units if prison staff believe they could be targeted by other inmates. There are also prisons in the UK dedicated to housing sexual offenders, such as HMP Whatton and HMP Stafford.
