Police Say At Least Ten More Women May Have Been Attacked By Brand

The six-women claim, checked against the record

A summary circulating on Facebook this week says six new women have come forward against Russell Brand, pointing to a fresh investigation by The Times and The Sunday Times and a Netflix documentary called "Russell Brand: Open Secret." That specific claim — a new Times investigation, six newly named accusers, a Netflix film — does not appear anywhere in the court reporting reviewed for this story.

What the record does show, from the days around Brand's sentencing, is related but different. London's Metropolitan Police commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, said at least 10 more women are suspected to have been attacked by Brand, and that detectives are already investigating two further rape allegations separate from the case that put him in prison. "We've got two other victims who've come forward who want to tell their story, and so two rape cases we're investigating," Rowley said, according to the Guardian. "I wouldn't be surprised if many, many more come forward, and we're open to that."

Rowley stopped short of confirming the number could reach double figures. "I'm not going to guess on this, but we've seen in the past with high-profile individuals who are brought to justice that it does often bring out a flood of other cases," he said, per the Guardian. "Let's see where this one goes."

What happened, in order

In 2004, at a bar in Soho, central London, Brand groped the breasts of a woman who worked for MTV. In 2004 or 2005, at a London radio station, he kissed and groped a woman at her workplace. In 2009, during the recording of an advertisement, he pressed his face into a woman's groin and forced her to give him a massage.

Also in 2009, Brand met a 21-year-old admirer at one of his shows at the Hammersmith Apollo in west London. Days later, at his townhouse, he anally raped her, continuing despite her pleas to stop; prosecutors said he removed a condom during the assault, which they later cited as an aggravating factor.

In September 2023, Channel 4's "Dispatches" and the Times and the Sunday Times published a joint investigation in which five women accused Brand of rape, sexual assault and controlling, emotionally abusive behavior. Two days later, the Metropolitan Police opened a criminal investigation. In the aftermath, a number of women who did not know one another and had not been part of that original investigation came forward separately to police.

The trial opened in mid-October at Southwark Crown Court and ran four weeks; six women testified. On Thursday, Nov. 5, a jury of eight men and four women delivered its verdict after roughly eight and a half hours of deliberation, convicting Brand on one rape count and three sexual assault counts and acquitting him on two further rape counts and one count of attempted indecent assault. He was remanded in custody.

The following Monday, Nov. 9, Justice Joel Bennathan sentenced Brand to 10 years and six months. Within days of that sentencing, the Met's broader estimate of suspected additional victims — 10 or more — and the two further rape allegations under active investigation became public.

Who's involved

Russell Brand, 51, is a British comedian, actor and media personality who rose to fame hosting "Celebrity Big Brother's Big Mouth" and later starred in Hollywood films including "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." He was married to singer Katy Perry from 2010 to 2012 and has been married to author and illustrator Laura Gallacher since 2017; they have three children together. Gallacher attended the trial throughout and testified that he was a "caring, kind and a wonderful father," according to NBC News.

The four women in the convicted counts have lifelong legal anonymity and were not named in court. Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones led the Crown's case at trial; David Roberts spoke for the Crown Prosecution Service after the verdict. Justice Joel Bennathan presided over both the trial and the sentencing. Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley have spoken publicly for the force since the conviction.

The charges, the verdicts, the sentence

Brand faced seven counts in total: three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of attempted indecent assault. The jury convicted him of one rape count and three sexual assault counts, and acquitted him of the remaining two rape counts and the attempted indecent assault count.

In practical terms, a conviction on "rape" in this case means the jury found, beyond reasonable doubt, that the 2009 encounter at Brand's townhouse involved sex without consent and that he continued despite the complainant's objections. The three sexual assault convictions cover separate, non-penetrative incidents — groping and forced physical contact — at different locations between 2004 and 2009. The acquittals mean the jury was not convinced, to the criminal standard, on those specific counts, even within the same trial.

At sentencing, Bennathan said Brand had become "a sexual predator" and paused "to pay tribute to the determination and bravery" of the women who came forward, according to NPR. The total sentence — 10 years and six months — reflects both the number of convictions and the aggravating factor the prosecution cited in the rape count, the removal of a condom during the assault. Britain's Sentencing Council lists rape sentences typically ranging from four to 19 years; the maximum is life.

What each side has said

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," according to NBC News. "He was manipulative," she said. "And, the prosecution say, he was a sexual predator." After the verdict, the CPS's David Roberts said 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," per CNN.

Brand testified in his own defense, telling the court the allegations had been "devastating" and that "my entire life has been consumed by these events," at the cost of "my marriage, my children and health," NBC News reported. He admitted to being sex-obsessed at the height of his fame: "I have been persuasive, seductive, begging and flirting, and have dedicated a lot of my life to what seems now beyond reckless philandering and idiocy." He added, "Consent is fundamental, essential, necessary and indeed more important than sex itself." At sentencing, his defense argued he was "a fundamentally different person" than the man who committed the crimes, per NPR.

Four women gave victim impact statements before sentencing; three were read by the prosecution and one woman read her own from behind a courtroom curtain. "It's something I carry with me every day and it often feels never-ending," the woman in the rape case said, according to NPR. "I doubt my ability to make good decisions and no longer trust my instinct in the way I did." Another woman, assaulted at the bar in 2004, said she felt "physically sick" seeing Brand's fame grow afterward.

Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy said Brand "used his influence, status and fame to exploit and sexually offend against women," adding, "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 and NBC News. Comedian Katherine Ryan, who had publicly warned about Brand before the trial, said, "There has been some justice done today. There's a level of relief, but there's grief alongside relief," per the Guardian.

What happens next

The Metropolitan Police confirmed an active investigation into two further rape allegations separate from the convicted counts, with files already sent to specialist rape prosecutors who are deciding whether to bring additional charges. Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has said he would not be surprised if more women come forward, with internal estimates putting potential additional victims at 10 or more. No date for any further charging decision has been reported.