Russell Brand convicted of rape and sexual assault, faces two new complaints

A London jury has convicted British comedian and actor Russell Brand of rape and of three sexual assaults against four women, and police are now examining rape complaints from two further women, BBC News reported.

Jurors at Southwark Crown Court returned the verdicts Thursday at the close of a trial lasting three weeks, the BBC said. Brand, 51, was cleared of a further two rape charges and a single charge of attempted indecent assault. The Associated Press, in a report published by PBS NewsHour, said the panel spent over eight hours deliberating across two days.

Judge Joel Bennathan warned that Brand should expect a substantial custodial sentence when he returns to court Monday, the AP reported. Brand had been on bail until the verdict and was then taken into custody. The AP said the offenses date back over two decades; the BBC put the oldest allegation at 27 years.

Brand denied every charge. Testifying in his own defense, he acknowledged being fixated on sex and living promiscuously in his youth but insisted he never coerced anyone, the AP reported. "My entire life has been consumed by these events, these allegations, these accusations," he said, according to the AP. His legal team contended the women were less credible because they contacted police years afterward, following a 2023 documentary featuring anonymous accusations.

That broadcast, a joint effort in September 2023 by The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4's Dispatches, set off the Metropolitan Police inquiry, according to the BBC. Over three years, detectives gathered upwards of 340 witness statements. When questioned, Brand handed officers written statements saying he did not know the complainants and that any sexual activity would have been consensual, and otherwise declined to answer, the BBC reported.

Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who headed the investigation, told the BBC that because the allegations were so old, there was no CCTV footage or forensic material, so his team sought other support, such as people the women had confided in at the time. He said he expected additional women might now report allegations.

"Brand used his influence, status and fame to exploit and sexually offend against women," Furphy said, according to the AP.

Brand became a household name in the early 2000s through television, a BBC radio program and Hollywood roles including "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," the AP reported. He was married to singer Katy Perry from 2010 to 2012; the BBC said police did not interview her. More recently he relocated to Florida and gathered a large online audience, according to the AP. His wife, Laura, appeared as a character witness for the defense.

Compiled by True News from reporting by BBC News and PBS NewsHour. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/794