Russell Brand was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison after being found guilty of rape and sexual assault at his criminal trial in London last week.
He faced a potential sentence of 19 years to life in prison for rape. The maximum sentence for sexual assault is 10 years.
In relation to the sexual assaults, Judge Bennathan imposed a sentence of nine months for count 3, 18 months for count 5 (instead of two years) and eight months for count 7, which would be served concurrently. He also imposed a nine-year prison sentence for count 6 of rape. The judge said Brand must serve two thirds of his sentence before he can be released on licence.
The former actor and comedian was found guilty Thursday of three counts of sexual assault and one count of rape. He was found not guilty of two other charges of rape and attempted indecent assault.
At the sentencing hearing Monday morning, the women involved in the case told the judge about the continuing impact of Brand’s crimes on them. One victim, who was sexually assaulted at a radio station in 2005 (count 5), said in a statement read out by the Crown’s lawyer that the assault had had a “lasting impact” on her life.
Count 3’s victim, who was sexually assaulted in a Soho bar in 2004, said that after the attack it was “impossible to avoid seeing him all over the media, celebrated for his disgusting behavior towards women as if it was all a joke”, while Count 7’s victim, who was assaulted by Brand while filming for Channel 4 in 2009, said she “lost trust in people and had felt that my work environment was unsafe” afterward. She also said the incident was “swept under the rug by senior management.”
The victim of Brand’s most serious crime, who was anally raped by Brand outside her home in Hampstead before he ordered her to change the sheets and have her escorted by his driver (count 6), said she feared she had contracted HIV after the encounter. The judge said Brand removing the condom and ejaculating inside the victim without her consent were aggravating factors in his sentencing decision.
Brand’s sentence began Thursday when he was taken into custody after the judge refused to grant him conditional release. As Brand was taken to the cell, he said “I’m fine” and “I’m fine” to his lawyers and gave a thumbs up, according to Sky News.
Brand visibly did not react to the reading of the verdicts. His wife, Laura Gallacher, rushed out of the courtroom as Brand was taken to the cell to await his bail application.
Brand was accused of raping three women in various locations between 1999 and 2009. One of the alleged victims also accused him of sexual assault in addition to oral rape. He was also charged with one count of attempted indecent assault at MTV’s UK offices in 2001 and one count of sexual assault in 2009. After the trial concluded, the Metropolitan Police confirmed he was being investigated over further rape allegations from two other women.
The allegations against Brand were made public in 2023 with a documentary series by the Sunday Times and Channel 4’s “Dispatches.” Before that, he was best known as a comedian and for his roles in films including “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him to the Greek.”
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