Russell Brand is facing a fresh police investigation into allegations of sexual abuse after multiple people reportedly came forward following his conviction for rape and sexual assault. The comedian, 51, was sentenced to ten-and-a-half years in prison on Monday after being found guilty of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others. However, police are understood to have received 'multiple reports' of further alleged offences since the verdict.
New allegations under examination
According to the Daily Mail, detectives are examining the new allegations, while prosecutors are also expected to decide within weeks whether to bring further charges against Brand over two separate alleged rapes, including one involving a 16-year-old girl. The former television presenter, who denied the charges against him during his trial, could therefore face another court case.
The developments come as his former girlfriend Jemima Goldsmith, 52, publicly accused him of 'violence, coercive control and abuse'. Goldsmith, who dated Brand in the early 2010s, alleged that she became so frightened following a violent incident in 2014 that she contacted police to have him removed from her £15million Cotswolds home. Her allegations have not been tested in court, and it is not known whether they form part of the latest police investigation.
Sentencing at Southwark Crown Court
Brand was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Monday, where Mr Justice Bennathan delivered a blistering assessment of the former Hollywood star's behaviour. 'About 20 years ago, Russell Brand, you were becoming famous, you were clever, and in many people's eyes you were funny and charismatic,' the judge told him. 'You had also become a sexual predator.'
The judge condemned Brand's 'staggering arrogance', saying he had displayed a 'casual arrogant disregard to any woman's right to say no to you'. He also criticised those around the comedian who had enabled his behaviour, including members of his entourage who allegedly laughed or failed to intervene when women were assaulted. Brand, who showed little visible emotion as he learned his fate, was told he must serve at least seven years behind bars before becoming eligible for release on licence. His wife, Laura Gallacher, was reportedly overcome with emotion in the public gallery as the sentence was handed down.
Trial verdicts at a glance
Brand was found guilty of four offences: one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. He raped a 21-year-old fan after meeting her at a 2009 stand-up show at the Hammersmith Apollo, sexually assaulted a Channel 4 worker in 2009 after she was forced to give him a massage, kissed and groped a Capital Radio worker in a corridor in 2005, and groped an MTV worker at a Soho bar in 2004. He was found not guilty of three charges: two counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault.
The jury cleared him of raping an MTV worker in a toilet in 2004, of raping a woman he met at a cabaret show during the 1999 Labour Party conference in Bournemouth, and of attempting to drag an MTV worker into a toilet to indecently assault her in 2001. The trial took place at Southwark Crown Court and lasted nearly four weeks, with the jury deliberating for eight and a half hours before reaching its verdicts.
Before being led away, Brand was seen mouthing 'I love you, we'll be OK' to Gallacher, who placed her hand against the glass of the dock and responded, 'I love you'. The couple share three children. During mitigation, Brand's barrister, Mr Winter, argued that his client should not be regarded as a 'monster' and described his offending as a 'short, momentary total failure' to respect consent. The judge rejected attempts to minimise the seriousness of the offences and paid tribute to the women who had come forward, acknowledging the ordeal of giving evidence and having their accounts challenged in court.
'Whatever women wear, wherever they go, indeed whatever they drink, they retain the right to say no and to demand justice from the criminal courts when sexual predators like you, Russell Brand, act without their consent,' he said. The allegations against Brand first came to widespread public attention in 2023 following a joint investigation by Channel 4's Dispatches and The Sunday Times.
Fresh appeal to victims
Following Monday's sentencing, Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy issued a fresh appeal to anyone who may have experienced sexual violence to contact police. 'I want to make a direct appeal to anyone who has been a victim of rape or any other sexual offence,' he said. 'We know it can take enormous courage to speak about what has happened to you, no matter how long ago it occurred or who was responsible.'
Brand is reportedly considering appealing his conviction, although no successful appeal has been reported. The new allegations remain under investigation, and no additional convictions have been secured.
