Russell Brand winked and nodded at his wife and members of his entourage as his sentencing hearing was paused for lunch, after his defence barrister argued that his fame was connected to his offending. The comedian, who was convicted of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, clutched a crucifix as the court broke.
Fame Blamed in Mitigation
His defence barrister, Ian Winter KC, told Southwark Crown Court in mitigation that Brand became famous very quickly and that fame impacted his behaviour. Winter said Brand "started to become very famous and then extraordinarily famous, and we would invite your lordship to conclude that his behaviour for these offences are connected and the consequence of that level of fame."
He also pointed out that the final offence "happened very shortly after he met Katy Perry." Brand was previously married to Perry.
Victim Impact Statements
The court heard from victims about the level of depravity Brand had shown while hurting them. One woman, a Channel 4 worker granted lifelong anonymity, described being sexually assaulted and forced to give Brand a massage in 2009. She said the attack was "brushed under the carpet" by her bosses, and she still worries about repercussions for speaking out.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, the woman said she was "powerless" during the incident, "really upset" in the aftermath, and struggled to trust colleagues in the years that followed. She said: "Immediately after the incident I spoke up, and sadly it was brushed under the carpet by senior management. This really affected me and had something similar happened again, at the time, I know I would not have had the confidence to speak up again."
She added: "There was a culture, at the time, which meant I felt I had to just carry on and not talk about it anymore. Which meant I did not give myself time to lament on it, boxed it up and pushed it aside."
Rape Conviction and Sentencing
The court heard how two members of the Brand entourage, Jack Bayles and Gareth Roy, told the woman that Brand was unhappy and refusing to continue recording until she had given him a massage. Channel 4 has acknowledged that the complaint was mishandled in 2009, and Brand continued to appear on the channel's shows up to 2019.
A woman raped by Brand in 2009, after meeting him at one of his comedy shows at the Hammersmith Apollo, told the court she struggled with alcoholism and mental health struggles in the intervening years. Brand picked her out of a crowd to join him for a threesome backstage, and she willingly went to his £2.3 million Hampstead townhouse a few days later for sex. The court heard the second encounter turned to rape when Brand forced her into anal sex.
Brand, who denied all the charges he faced at trial, has sat emotionless as prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC submitted that the rape conviction should be considered in the highest level of impact on the victim, carrying a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. Mr Justice Bennathan is due to pass sentence on Brand at 2pm.
