Russell Brand found guilty of rape and assaults
Russell Brand was found guilty in a London court on Thursday of rape and assaults, and told he faces a lengthy jail sentence.
Brand, once one of Britain’s most high-profile broadcasters and the former husband of US singer Katy Perry, had denied the accusations, saying the incidents had either been consensual, reinvented or re-imagined.
According to a report by the AFP, presiding judge Joel Bennathan said Brand would face a “significant custodial term”.
A prosecutor described Brand as a ruthless, calculating, manipulative “predator”.
Brand was convicted of one count of rape and three counts of assault. He was acquitted of two rape counts and one count of attempted indecent assault.
Brand closed his eyes but showed no emotion as the jury delivered the verdicts.
Prosecutors said the charges, between 1999 and 2009 spanned the years in which Brand rose from performing stand-up comedy in small venues to becoming a television presenter and Hollywood film star.
The court heard tearful and forceful testimony from the six complainants, who are all entitled to lifelong anonymity.
None of the women knew each other but all came forward to police in the wake of a TV documentary and press reports in 2023 in which anonymous allegations were made by other women.
