Russell Brand convicted of rape and sexual assault

Russell Brand has been convicted of raping a fan and sexually assaulting three other women, after a four-week trial at Southwark crown court in London. The 51-year-old was found guilty on Thursday of four offences against four women, following eight hours and 30 minutes of jury deliberations.

Brand had pleaded not guilty to three charges of rape, three of sexual assault and one of attempted indecent assault brought by six women, with the allegations spanning 10 years from 1999. He was cleared of two counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault.

The convictions

He was found guilty of anally raping a young fan at his London townhouse after picking her out of a crowd following a Hammersmith Apollo gig in early 2009. She told the court she begged him to stop but that he continued.

He was also convicted of sexually assaulting a woman who worked for MTV by grabbing her breasts at a birthday party in Soho in 2004, though he was cleared of orally raping her in a toilet afterwards. He was convicted of sexually assaulting a woman while she worked at the radio station Choice FM in 2004 or 2005, and of sexually assaulting a Channel 4 worker during a filming project in 2009.

He was cleared of raping a woman at the Labour party conference in Bournemouth in 1999 and of attempting to indecently assault an MTV worker in 2001.

Remanded in custody

Mr Justice Bennathan told Brand that a significant custodial term was inevitable and remanded him in custody ahead of sentencing on Monday. He turned down a request from Brand's barrister, Ian Winter KC, for bail over the weekend so that Brand could say goodbye to his children. The judge said he regretted the hardship caused to the children but that there were substantial grounds to fear Brand might not return to be sentenced.

Brand's defence argued that 2023 media reports — a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary and Times and Sunday Times investigations — had "poisoned the well" of justice. Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC said victims described a pattern of behaviour that began with compliments and flattery before a "personality change".

Further investigation

The Metropolitan police said its investigation into Brand was continuing. It can now be reported that he is under investigation over two further rape allegations, with files submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service.

After the trial, the victims' commissioner for England and Wales, Claire Waxman, warned against the perpetuation of rape myths in the legal system. Channel 4 said it recognised the profound impact of the crimes and commended the courage of those who gave evidence. The BBC said a 2025 report had examined how eight allegations from Brand's time at the broadcaster were handled, and repeated its apology to those affected.

Source: The Guardian.