Russell Brand awaits sentencing as he faces ‘significant’ prison time for rape and sexual assaults

LONDON — British comedian and actor Russell Brand was set to be sentenced Monday by a U.K. court and could face a lengthy prison term after being convicted of rape and sexual assault. It will complete a stunning fall from grace for Brand, 51, who found fame on both sides of the Atlantic chronicling his promiscuity and battles with addiction. He was found guilty last week of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. He had pleaded not guilty to all counts and denied all of the allegations. Brand appeared in the London court on Monday wearing a dark suit and at times making a sign of the cross, as the judge, Justice Joel Bennathan, prepared to hand down his sentence. The judge had said last week that Brand faced a “significant” prison term for his crimes. Under English law the maximum sentence for rape is life imprisonment, and 10 years for one count of sexual assault, according to Britain’s Sentencing Council. Brand’s female victims told the court on Monday — in person and in written statements — that they were still living with the trauma and effects in their daily lives. “I’ve been in shock and turmoil for years,” one woman told the sentencing hearing, while another labeled him a “sexual predator” and said he appeared to show “no remorse.” Victims of alleged sexual offenses are granted anonymity for life, under British law. Since Brand’s conviction, London’s Metropolitan Police said it had provided prosecutors with investigations into two more rape allegations against him. Brand’s case has renewed scrutiny on the ethics of the entertainment industry, through which Brand rose from a flamboyant British broadcaster and stand-up comedian to a star of Hollywood movies. After the four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court in London, a jury of eight men and four women found Brand guilty of having anally raped a female fan at his home after she met him at one of his shows in 2009. He was also found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman whose breasts he grabbed at a party in 2004, and another woman who said he had kissed and groped her at a London radio station in 2004 or 2005. A third guilty verdict was delivered to Brand for the sexual assault of a woman who testified that he had pressed his face into her groin during the recording of an advertisement in 2009. He was found not guilty of two other counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault. Prosecutors said the women do not know one another and that they separately went to police after a TV documentary was broadcast in Britain in 2023. During the trial, prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones called Brand a ruthless, calculating, manipulative “sexual predator” who treated women as a “disposable commodity.” Brand admitted in his testimony to being sex-obsessed as a young and famous man. He denied ever having non-consensual sex. At the height of his fame, Brand featured in several Hollywood movies, including “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him to the Greek.” His fame stateside was cemented when he briefly wed singer Katy Perry in a lavish ceremony in India in 2010. The couple divorced in 2012. Brand’s current wife, Laura Gallacher, was in the courtroom on Monday and had previously testified that he was a “caring, kind and a wonderful father.” The couple married in 2017 and have three young children. In recent years, Brand had moved away from mainstream media, becoming an anti-establishment commentator. He briefly relocated to Florida and has built a large online following with videos that discuss U.S. politics, wellness, conspiracy theories and his newfound Christian faith. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. The hotline, run by the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network (RAINN), can put you in contact with your local rape crisis center. You can also access RAINN’s online chat service at rainn.org/get-help.