Russell Brand Jailed for 10.5 Years for Rape, Sexual Assault

British comedian and actor Russell Brand was jailed for 10 years and six months on Monday (Nov 9) after a jury at Southwark Crown Court in south London found him guilty of rape and sexual assault, CBS News reported.

The jury of eight men and four women convicted Brand, 51, of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, and cleared him of two other rape counts and one count of attempted indecent assault, according to CBS News and the Associated Press.

Offences spanned 2004 to 2009

The offences he was convicted of took place between 2004 and 2009, the reports said. Six women had made allegations against him covering the period from 1999 to 2009. The women have not been named.

According to the AP, the convictions relate to groping a woman at a birthday party at a London bar in 2004, kissing and groping a woman at a London radio station, raping a woman at his west London home in 2009 after they met backstage at a comedy show, and sexually assaulting a woman during the recording of an advertisement in 2009.

Brand pleaded not guilty to all charges and told the court that all the encounters were consensual. The accusations first surfaced after a 2023 investigation by The Times and Channel 4, the AP said.

Judge speaks as Russell Brand jailed

Brand had been refused bail after the verdict and was held in custody until sentencing. Judge Joel Bennathan told him: “You had also become a sexual predator,” the AP reported.

His lawyer, Ian Winter KC, told the court Brand was a “fundamentally different person today”, CBS News reported. The prosecutor in the case was Riel Karmy-Jones.

After he was sentenced, Brand turned to his wife and mouthed that they would be OK, according to the AP. CBS News, citing the BBC, said police were investigating further rape allegations made by two other women.

Neither report said whether Brand plans to appeal.

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