JUST IN | Russell Brand found guilty of rape and sexual assaults

British comedian and actor Russell Brand has been found guilty of rape and three sexual assaults following a trial at London’s Southwark Crown Court.

Brand, 51, closed his eyes but showed no emotion as the jury delivered the verdicts.

He was convicted on Thursday after denying the allegations against him.

According to the BBC, he was acquitted of two further rape charges and one count of attempted indecent assault.

Judge Joel Bennathan said Brand would be sentenced on Monday and faces a lengthy prison term.

Brand was taken to the cells ahead of a bail application.

Four convictions after trial

The charges relate to incidents between 1999 and 2009, spanning the period in which Russell Brand rose from performing stand-up comedy to becoming a prominent television presenter and Hollywood actor.

Prosecutors had described him as a ruthless sexual predator.

Brand denied the accusations, saying the incidents had either been consensual, reinvented or re-imagined.

The court heard evidence from six women, who are all entitled to lifelong anonymity. The complainants did not know one another but came forward to police following a television documentary and press reports in 2023 that featured allegations by other women.

Details of the convictions

The most serious conviction relates to a rape in 2009.

The woman told the court that she had met Russell Brand after attending one of his performances, where they had engaged in a sexual encounter in his dressing room.

She said that days later, during what began as consensual sex at his home, Brand raped her anally. She also told the court that he later instructed her to clean up the blood and mess.

Brand was also convicted of sexually assaulting a woman at a London bar in 2004, after she said he approached her at a party and grabbed her breasts.

Another conviction relates to an incident in 2009, when Brand allegedly demanded a massage from a woman working with him on a promotional project before putting his head between her legs. The incident took place in front of two of his colleagues.

A further sexual assault conviction relates to an incident in 2004 or 2005 involving a woman who worked at a radio station. She described being assaulted during a frenzied attack in front of Brand’s entourage.

Sentencing due on Monday

Russell Brand is due back in court on Monday, when the judge will determine his sentence.

The case marks a major development in the criminal proceedings against the comedian, whose career included television, radio, stand-up comedy and films such as Get Him to the Greek and Arthur.