Russell Brand Found Guilty in U.K. Rape Trial

After three weeks on trial, Russell Brand was found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, per the New York Times. He was found not guilty on two counts of rape and two other counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault. The jury took eight and a half hours to decide on Brand’s charges, which were three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault, and one count of attempted indecent assault. Brand was denied bail, and judge Joel Bennathan said he would sentence Brand to “significant custodial time” on Monday, November 9. The incidents occurred between 1999 and 2009 and were alleged by six separate anonymous women. Over the course of the trial, Brand denied all charges and pleaded not guilty.

Brand was initially charged after four women told The Sunday Times and the U.K.’s Channel 4 in 2023 that Brand had assaulted them in separate incidents between 1999 and 2005. Two other alleged victims came forward after the charges were filed, bringing the total offenses to seven and the number of accusers in the case to six. The trial began on October 14 with the swearing-in of the jury at Southwark Crown Court in London.

Based on reporting from Sky News, the prosecution, led by prosecutor Riel-Karmy Jones, labeled Brand a “ruthless, calculated, and manipulative” sexual predator, obsessed with reaching his alleged goal of sleeping with 5,000 women and willing to pretend to be gay to gain their trust. The defendant expressed regret over his behavior toward women in his past but emphasized the importance of consent to him in sexual relations, pleading not guilty to all charges. In the defense’s closing speech, Winter accused journalists of poisoning “the well of justice” by prompting the women to come forward.