Russell Brand has been sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison for raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others.
Judge Joel Bennathan handed down the sentence on Monday, November 9, at Southwark Crown Court in London, NPR reports. The ruling came four days after a jury found the 51-year-old comedian and actor guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault.
According to The Christian Post, Brand is expected to serve two-thirds of the sentence, around seven years, before he can be considered for release. He must also register as a sex offender indefinitely.
What the Judge Told Russell Brand
Before announcing the sentence, the judge said, per USA Today, Brand had told a series of lies during the trial and had shown a “casual and arrogant disregard” for women who said no to him.
Bennathan said that Brand had used his fame and talent to prey on women, and that he had become a sexual predator. He added that women keep the right to say no and to seek justice in the courts, no matter what they wear, where they go or what they drink.
The sentence was handed down live on camera, and Brand was then taken down to the cells.
Victims Spoke in Court
Four of the women who brought the case gave victim impact statements before the sentence was announced. The women, who did not know each other, are entitled to lifelong anonymity.
One woman, who was raped in 2009 after meeting Brand at a comedy show in London, said she is still living with the trauma. She told the court she struggled to eat and sleep and had to take months off work. Another woman, who was assaulted while working on a Channel 4 documentary, said the experience left her feeling powerless and unable to trust people. A third said Brand has shown no remorse.
Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones described Brand as a ruthless, calculating and manipulative “sexual predator” who treated women as a “disposable commodity” and used his fame to get access to them.
What Russell Brand Was Convicted Of
The jury convicted Brand of raping a woman at his home in 2009, grabbing a woman’s breasts at a London bar in 2004, assaulting a woman in front of two colleagues in 2009, and pushing a radio station worker against a wall and forcibly kissing her.
He was acquitted of two other counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault. The case was brought by six women whose allegations span 1999 to 2009.
Brand denied all the charges throughout the trial, insisting that he had never forced anyone into anything against their will.
Further Allegations
London’s Metropolitan Police said Brand also faces rape allegations from two other women. He has been interviewed under caution but has not been charged in connection with those claims.
Brand’s wife, Laura Gallacher, and his father, Ron, supported him in court during the case.
Who Is Russell Brand?
Brand rose to fame in Britain in the 2000s as a stand-up comedian and TV and radio presenter, before moving into Hollywood films including Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek and Arthur. He was married to Katy Perry from 2010 to 2012.
The allegations against him first came to light in 2023, after a joint investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches and The Sunday Times led several women to go to the police.
