Russell Brand sentenced to 10.5 years for rape and sexual assault

LAST UPDATE | 2 hrs ago

RUSSELL BRAND HAS been sentenced to 10 years and six months for raping a woman and sexually assaulting three others.

During his sentencing remarks today, Mr Justice Bennathan told Brand he had “a casual and arrogant disregard for a woman’s right to say no”.

A four-week trial heard how Brand (51) preyed on women that he encountered on his way to becoming one of Britain’s best-known comedians, a lauded TV and radio host, and a Hollywood actor who was briefly married to singer Katy Perry.

The judge said today that Brand had “staggering arrogance” and that his entourage enabled his behaviour. 

The sentences for the three counts of sexual assault – eight months, nine months and 18 months, respectively – will run concurrently, meaning he’ll serve them simultaneously.

However, his nine-year sentence for rape is consecutive, meaning it will not be served alongside the others.

Brand will serve two-thirds of the total 10-and-a-half-year sentence, and will then be released on licence. 

The shamed star showed no emotion as he heard his sentence, but told his wife “we’ll be OK” as he was taken downstairs by the dock officers.

The judge said factors in mitigation for Brand included his lack of previous convictions, that “17 years had passed” since his final offence, and that he went on to help those “wrestling with addictions”.

Brand was found guilty of raping a young fan he met after one of his Hammersmith Apollo shows in 2009.

Before the sentence was handed down at Southwark Crown Court, survivors delivered impact statements behind a curtain to protect their anonymity.

Reading her statement in court today, the woman he raped said that for a long time she felt she couldn’t speak about what happened due to Brand’s celebrity status and influence.

“I did not have the confidence to challenge someone who appeared so powerful, rich and influential,” she said.

I felt that if I reported him, I would not be believed.

Brand continued to look straight ahead while the statement was read out.

‘It affected how I viewed myself’

Jurors also found Brand guilty of groping another MTV worker during a party at a Soho bar in 2004, but not guilty of going on to orally rape her in a toilet.

In her victim impact statement, the woman described how the crime affected her over the years.

“When it happened, I was in complete shock and turmoil for weeks trying to process what had happened to me,” she told the court today.

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“I was extremely upset and traumatised.

“It really affected how I viewed myself, I didn’t have any respect for myself and got into situations with toxic men as I didn’t have any self-worth.”

The woman said that as Brand’s stardom grew, it was “impossible” not to see him in the media, and she often felt “visibly sick at the sight of him”.

Brand’s wife Laura Gallacher, who supported him throughout the trial, shook her head as the impact statement was read out.

‘A lasting impact’

Jurors also found Brand guilty of sexually assaulting a Capital Radio worker after encountering her in a corridor in 2005.

The victim said it had a “lasting impact” on her life.

The incident impacted her work but she “tried for so long to be strong and carry on – business as usual”, she wrote in an impact statement read out by a lawyer.

She added: “However, over the years, hearing his voice on television, on social media or seeing his image made me jump.”

The woman went on to say that she came close to withdrawing her allegation because she did not think she “was strong enough emotionally” to proceed.

She concluded her statement by saying Brand “has no remorse” for his actions.

Furthermore, Brand is guilty of sexually assaulting a Channel 4 worker during a forced massage in 2009.

The woman said in court today that she lost trust in people after the experience, and her workplace no longer felt safe.

She said the process of reporting the incident “felt like a marathon I had not trained for”.

“I was so worried about whether I would be supported and heard, because I wasn’t when I first spoke up initially after the assault first happened,” she said.

She said she fears the assault will “haunt me every day”.

While she is now believed, she remains anxious that “there will be repercussions for telling the truth”.

As he entered the dock at the beginning of today’s hearing, Brand turned to his wife Laura Gallacher in the public gallery and mouthed: “It’ll be okay, I don’t know how, but it will.”

Gallacher said “oh God” as she saw Brand enter the dock, before telling him: “I love you.”

The shamed former comedian was also seen holding a crucifix, performing a cross with his hand, and saying a prayer as one of the victims entered court to deliver their statement.