Russell Brand Found Guilty Of Assault, Assault

What the jury found, count by count

Russell Brand, 51, stood trial for three weeks at Southwark Crown Court in London on seven counts: three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of attempted indecent assault. The allegations covered six women over a decade, from 1999 to 2009, long before Brand became the wellness-and-faith personality he is today.

On Thursday, Nov. 5, a jury of eight men and four women convicted Brand on four of the seven counts. They found him guilty of raping a 21-year-old fan who met him after a 2009 show at the Hammersmith Apollo. She told the court that she and Brand had a consensual encounter the night they met, but that days later, at his home in Hampstead, he forced her into anal sex and ignored her when she asked him to stop.

Jurors also convicted Brand of sexually assaulting three other women: grabbing a woman's breasts at a party in a Soho bar in the summer of 2004; kissing and groping a woman at London radio station Choice FM in 2004 or 2005; and pressing his face into a woman's groin during the filming of an advertisement in 2009.

The jury acquitted Brand on the remaining three counts — two counts of rape and the attempted indecent assault charge — after deliberating more than eight and a half hours over two days.

Who's who in the case

Brand built his fame in the early 2000s as a stand-up comedian and MTV UK presenter, then lost that job in 2001 after showing up to work dressed as Osama bin Laden two days after the Sept. 11 attacks. He later said drug addiction drove that behavior and has said he's been sober since a 2002 stint in rehab. A BBC Radio 2 show followed, ending in 2008 after a prank-call scandal, and Hollywood roles came after that, including "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and "Get Him to the Greek."

He married pop star Katy Perry in 2010; they divorced in 2012. He married Laura Gallacher, an author and illustrator, in 2017, and the two have three young children. In the past decade Brand shifted from raunchy comedy toward wellness, political commentary and, more recently, a public Christian faith, relocating to Florida along the way.

Judge Joel Bennathan presided over the trial. Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones argued the Crown's case; defense barrister Ian Winter represented Brand. Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy led the Metropolitan Police investigation, and Crown Prosecution Service lawyer David Roberts spoke for prosecutors outside court. Gallacher attended every day of the trial and testified as a character witness; Brand's father, Ron Brand, also appeared in court.

"Brand used his influence, status and fame to exploit and sexually offend against women," — Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, Metropolitan Police, per CNN

From verdict to a 10-year sentence

Bennathan denied Brand bail immediately after the verdict and remanded him into custody. "You've been convicted of a number of offences including rape," he told Brand, according to CBS News, citing the BBC. "The consequence of that is inevitably a significant custodial term." Brand closed his eyes as the rape verdict was read, then repeatedly told his lawyers "I'm good, I'm good, I'm good" as he was led away, CBS News reported.

Four days later, on Monday, Nov. 9, Bennathan handed down the sentence: 10 years and six months in prison. Before sentencing, four of the women Brand was convicted of assaulting gave victim impact statements — three read by prosecutors, one delivered in person from behind a courtroom curtain.

The woman Brand raped said in her statement, read by prosecutors: "It's something I carry with me every day and it often feels never-ending." She said she no longer trusted her own judgment and hadn't reported Brand sooner because she didn't think she'd be believed given his fame, according to NPR.

At sentencing, prosecutors cited an aggravating factor in the rape count — that Brand removed a condom during the assault — and asked for a lengthy term. The defense argued Brand was "a fundamentally different person" than he'd been at the time of the crimes. Bennathan said Brand had become "a sexual predator" and praised the women's "determination and bravery" in coming forward, per NPR.

What Brand and his accusers have said

Brand pleaded not guilty to all seven counts and took the stand in his own defense. He acknowledged being "sex-obsessed" as a younger, famous man but denied ever forcing anyone. "Consent is fundamental, essential, necessary and indeed more important than sex itself," he told the court, per NBC News.

He also described the toll of the case: "My entire life has been consumed by these events, these allegations, these accusations," he said, adding it had come "at the expense of my marriage, my children and health," according to NBC News.

Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones told jurors Brand had an "indiscriminate and voracious" desire for sexual contact and that "women were simply a means to an end." She called him calculating, adding: "He was manipulative. And, the prosecution say, he was a sexual predator," per NBC News.

After the verdict, Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy said: "Brand used his influence, status and fame to exploit and sexually offend against women. As his profile grew, so too did his sense of entitlement. I hope this conviction sends a clear message that no one is above the law, no matter how famous or powerful they may be," per CNN. CPS lawyer David Roberts told reporters the evidence showed Brand "to be a calculated sexual predator, using his growing fame and power to create situations in which he could pursue women sexually regardless of what they wanted," also per CNN.

New allegations surface after the verdict

The case isn't closed. London police confirmed they're still investigating two further rape allegations against Brand, separate from the trial charges — one reportedly involving a woman who says she dated Brand when she was 16 and he was 30. Prosecutors are assessing whether to bring additional charges, according to the Press Association.

Days after sentencing, British producer Jemima Goldsmith — a former girlfriend of Brand's, previously known as Jemima Khan — publicly said she experienced his "violence, coercive control and abuse" during their relationship and that she had him "removed from my house in 2014 during a violent incident." She said she didn't press charges at the time but is "relieved" by his convictions, per the Los Angeles Times.

The BBC confirmed Thames Valley Police responded to a reported incident at Goldsmith's Oxfordshire home in July 2014; officers made no arrests and "ensured the victim's partner left the address, as per the victim's wishes." Goldsmith has not filed a criminal complaint over that incident. The Metropolitan Police also said additional people have come forward with information or potential allegations since the trial ended, which detectives are still assessing.

What happens next

Brand's legal team is widely expected to appeal, though no appeal has been filed in the coverage so far. London's Metropolitan Police continue assessing two additional rape allegations referred by prosecutors, plus new information volunteered by the public since the trial ended — any of which could lead to further charges, though nothing has been decided yet.