Russell Brand Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison After Rape, Sexual Assault Convictions

Russell Brand has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted of rape and sexual assault in his London criminal trial last week.

He was facing a potential sentence of 19 years to life in prison for the rape conviction. The maximum sentence for sexual assault is 10 years.

The former actor and comedian was found guilty Thursday on three counts of sexual assault and one count of rape. He was found not guilty of two other rape charges and a count of attempted indecent assault.

He was then taken into police custody as the judge refused to grant him conditional bail. As Brand was taken to the cells, he mouthed “I’m OK” and “I’m good” to his lawyers and gave a thumbs-up sign, according to Sky News.

Brand did not visibly react when the verdicts were read out. His wife, Laura Gallacher, rushed out of the courtroom when Brand was taken to the cells to wait before his bail application.

Brand was accused of raping three women at various locations between 1999 and 2009. One of the alleged victims also accused him of sexual assault in addition to oral rape. He was also accused of one count of attempted indecent assault at MTV’s U.K. offices in 2001 and one count of sexual assault in 2009. After the trial concluded, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that he is being investigated on further allegations of rape from two other women.

Allegations against Brand went public in 2023 with a docuseries from the Sunday Times and Channel 4’s “Dispatches.” Before then, he was best known as a comedian and for his roles in films like “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him to the Greek.”