LONDON — British comedian and actor Russell Brand was due to be sentenced in court Monday and faces a lengthy prison sentence after being found guilty of rape and sexual assault.
It will complete a stunning fall from grace for Brand, 51, who rose to fame on both sides of the Atlantic by chronicling his promiscuity and battles with addiction.
He was convicted last week of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. He had pleaded not guilty to all charges and denied all allegations.
Brand appeared in court in London on Monday wearing a dark suit and sometimes making the sign of the cross, as the judge, Mr Justice Joel Bennathan, prepared to pass sentence. The judge said last week that Brand faced a “significant” prison sentence for his crimes.
Under English law, the maximum sentence for rape is life imprisonment and 10 years for one count of sexual assault, according to the British Sentencing Council.
Brand’s female victims told the court Monday — in person and in written statements — that they are still living with the trauma and effects of their daily lives.
“I’ve been in shock and turmoil for years,” one woman said at the sentencing hearing, while another called him a “sexual predator” and said he appeared to show “no remorse.” Victims of alleged sexual offenses are granted anonymity for life under British law.
Since Brand’s conviction, London’s Metropolitan Police said it had opened investigations into two other rape allegations against him to prosecutors.
Brand’s case has renewed scrutiny of the ethics of the entertainment industry, through which Brand went from being a flamboyant British broadcaster and comedian to becoming a star of Hollywood films.
After the four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court in London, a jury of eight men and four women found Brand guilty of anal rape. a fan at his home after meeting him at one of his concerts in 2009.
He was also convicted of sexually assaulting a woman whose breasts he grabbed at a party in 2004, as well as another woman who said he kissed and groped her at a London radio station in 2004 or 2005.
A third guilty verdict was handed down against Brand for the sexual assault of a woman who testified that he pressed her face against her groin while recording a commercial in 2009.
He was found not guilty of two further counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault.
Prosecutors said the women did not know each other and had approached police separately after a television documentary was broadcast in Britain in 2023.
During the trial, prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones called Brand a ruthless, calculating and manipulative “sexual predator” who treated women like “disposable merchandise.”
Brand admitted in his testimony to being obsessed with sex as a young and famous man. He denied having non-consensual sex.
At the height of his fame, Brand was featured in several Hollywood films, including “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him to the Greek.” His fame in the United States was cemented when he briefly married singer Katy Perry in a lavish ceremony in India in 2010. The couple divorced in 2012.
Brand’s current wife, Laura Gallacher, was in the courtroom Monday and had previously testified that he was a “caring, kind, wonderful father.” The couple married in 2017 and have three young children.
In recent years, Brand has moved away from mainstream media to become an anti-establishment commentator. He briefly moved to Florida and built a large online following with videos that discussed American politics, welfare, conspiracy theories and his new Christian faith.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. The hotline, run by the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), can connect you with your local rape crisis center. You can also access RAINN’s online chat service at rainn.org/get-help.
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