A woman who accused Russell Brand of rape has waived her anonymity to speak publicly about her alleged ordeal as a 16-year-old schoolgirl. Mia Latter, previously referred to in media reports and court proceedings as "Alice," spoke to The Times about her alleged relationship with Brand, which she said began in 2006 when he was 30 and at the height of his fame as a BBC presenter.
Brand, 51, is currently in prison after being sentenced to 10 years and six months. He was convicted of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others, offences for which Judge Joel Bennathan branded him a "sexual predator." Although Latter spoke to police following the 2023 joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4's Dispatches, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) ultimately decided not to include her case in the recent criminal trial.
Alleged assault details
Recounting an alleged assault during their time together, Latter claimed to The Times that Brand physically restrained her against a headboard and orally raped her. "I was choking and crying," she recalled. "I was trying to push him off, so he knew that I didn't want him to be doing that, and so then I ended up having to hit him in the stomach to get him off."
She claimed that after she struck him to escape, Brand told her: "I just wanted to see your mascara run." During earlier interviews, including an appearance on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, and pre-trial hearings, it emerged that Brand had allegedly nicknamed her "the child" while they were involved. She told the newspaper Brand referred to her as "the child" in front of his entourage and on the phone to his manager, John Noel.
Impact on education and health
Latter has also alleged that BBC vehicles were used to collect her from school and transport her to Brand's residence. She claimed the relationship derailed her education, preventing her from finishing her exams, and led to her developing an eating disorder. She also claimed she was told to keep their relationship a secret from her school friends. Latter says the relationship lasted three months until they broke up, as per The Times.
Brand has previously denied all allegations of non-consensual sexual activity.
Campaign for staggered age of consent
Now, Latter is demanding a change in the law to protect teenagers from grooming. Speaking out under her own name in a new interview with The Times, Latter said "shame must change sides" as she launched a campaign for a staggered age of consent, which would make sexual relationships between 16- and 17-year-olds and older adults illegal.
Staggered consent is already the law in some US states, including Florida, where Brand was living before he was sent to prison. The age of consent in the state is 18, but it is lowered to 16 if the partner is not older than 23.
Brand was jailed for 10-and-a-half years at Southwark Crown Court on Monday following a four-week trial. A jury unanimously convicted him of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault against four women between 2004 and 2009, while clearing him of three further charges. Judge Bennathan described the comedian as a "sexual predator" who displayed a "casual, arrogant disregard" for women. He must serve two-thirds of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole and has been placed on the sex offenders register for life.
