LONDON — British comedian and actor Russell Brand has been found guilty of rape and sexual assault in a London court on Thursday. Brand, once one of Britain’s most high-profile broadcasters and the former husband of singer Katy Perry, had denied the accusations, saying the incidents had either been consensual, reinvented or re-imagined. Brand, 51, was accused of three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of attempted indecent assault.
Ultimately he was found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. He was acquitted of the other charges. He had pleaded not guilty to all counts and consistently denied all of the allegations.
The judge, Justice Joel Bennathan, told Brand the consequence of the verdicts is a “significant custodial term” and said he would have to remain in prison until he is formally sentenced on Monday. The accusations date back to Brand’s rise as a stand-up comedian and risqué presenter on British television. He had a prominent radio show on the BBC and authored several best-selling biographies where he detailed his addictions to drugs and alcohol.
At the height of his fame, Brand featured in several Hollywood movies including: “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him to the Greek.” His fame stateside was cemented when he briefly wed pop star Katy Perry in a lavish ceremony in India in 2010. The couple divorced in 2012. In recent years, Brand has moved away from mainstream media, relocated to Florida and built a large online following with videos that discuss U.S. politics, wellness, conspiracy theories and his newfound Christian faith.
The four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court in London saw prosecutors label Brand “ruthless.” Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones told jurors that Brand at the time had an “indiscriminate and voracious” desire for sexual contact, and that “women were simply a means to an end.” The prosecutor described Brand as “calculating, he was manipulative. And, the prosecution say, he was a sexual predator.” One woman alleged that Brand had raped her in a seaside hotel room in 1999, another said that he attempted to drag her into a men’s toilet in 2001 at the London office of music channel MTV, where they both worked. A third alleged that Brand orally raped her in 2004 in the toilet of a London bar, and a fourth said Brand kissed and groped her at a London radio station in 2004 or 2005.
Another woman said Brand anally raped her at his home after she met him at one of his shows in 2009, while the sixth said Brand demanded a massage and pressed his face into her groin during the recording of an advertisement in 2009. Prosecutors said the women do not know one another and separately went to police after a TV documentary was broadcast in Britain in 2023. His appearances outside the court, holding hands with his wife and flanked by security guards, made daily headlines in the British press.
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