‘Sexual predator’ Brand jailed for rape and sexual assault
UK comedian Russell Brand has been jailed for more than 10 years after he was convicted of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three more.
Source: X
Comedian Russell Brand has been jailed for 10½ years after he was convicted of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three more about two decades ago.
Brand — the former husband of US pop singer Katy Perry who in recent years moved away from the mainstream — was convicted last week of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three more between 2004 and 2009.
He had denied all the charges.
The 51-year-old stood in the dock at London’s Southwark Crown Court in Monday (local time) as Judge Joel Bennathan sentenced him to 10 years and six months in prison.
Brand will serve two-thirds of the sentence in custody before being released on licence.
Bennathan said Brand was a sexual predator who believed “fame meant you could act how you liked, when you liked, unhindered by the rules by which decent people live”.
“Whatever women wear, wherever they go, indeed whatever they drink, they retain the right to say no and to demand justice from the criminal courts when sexual predators like you, Russell Brand, act without their consent,” he said.
Brand had shown “staggering arrogance” and “casual disrespect” around his victims, Bennathan added in handing down the sentence.
A judge has called Russell Brand a ‘sexual predator’ who showed ‘staggering arrogance’. Photo: AAP
Brand — who rose to fame as a TV presenter known for his loquacious manner and flamboyant appearance and starred in films such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek and Arthur — had denied ever having non-consensual sex.
He acknowledged in evidence he had dedicated a lot of his life to what he described as “reckless philandering and idiocy”, although he said sexual consent was fundamental.
But, after a four-week trial, Brand was found guilty of one count of rape and three sexual assaults.
He was acquitted of two other rape charges and an attempted indecent assault.
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One of Brand’s victims, whom Brand anally raped in 2009, said in a statement read by prosecutors that the trauma of the attack was “something I carry with me every day and it often feels never-ending”.
Brand’s lawyer Ian Winter said Brand — who has spoken at length about his recovery from drink and drug addiction and his new-found Christian faith — was “a fundamentally different person today and has been for a very long time”.
Brand showed no emotion as he was sentenced. He told his wife Laura Gallacher “we’ll be OK” as he was taken away to the cells.
The couple shared a brief conversation before Brand was taken from court.
Gallacher was seen breathing deeply and muttering “it’s OK, it’s OK” as a posse of people ushered her through the corridors of the court.
Laura Gallacher was seen breathing deeply as she left the court following her husband’s sentencing. Photo: AAP
Earlier on Monday, Brand started to pray and also told his wife “it’ll be OK” as he entered the dock to be sentenced.
Brand had spent the past four nights, since his conviction, in custody at HMP Wandsworth.
As he entered the dock on Monday, Brand turned to his wife in the public gallery and mouthed: “It’ll be OK, 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”.
Brand, who was known for edgy stand-up routines and battles with drugs and alcohol, rose to prominence in the early 2000s hosting television programs and his own BBC radio show.
A prison van believed to be carrying Brand later left Southwark Crown Court to transport him to jail.
A crucifix and a suit jacket could be seen through the window of the van, which was chased by photographers.
Victims deliver statements
Ahead of the sentencing, Brand’s victims delivered emotional statements.
One woman, who was sexually assaulted by Brand in a Soho bar in 2004, spoke from behind a protective curtain.
“I wanted to express how this crime has affected me over the years,” she said.
“When it happened, I was in complete shock and turmoil for weeks trying to process what had happened to me.
“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.
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“I literally lost any love for myself for a long time thinking that I was damaged goods.”
Another victim told the court Brand’s offending “has had a lasting impact on my life even if I thought that I had successfully buried what happened”.
“Since the sexual assault carried out by him in 2005, Russell Brand has managed to move on and even forget,” she said.
Brand’s rape victim’s statement was read by prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC.
“The defendant’s public profile had a significant impact on me – because of who he was and the influence he held, I did not feel confident speaking openly about what had happened,” the woman said.
“I did not know who I could trust or confide in. I felt that if I reported him, I would not be believed.
“His fame, wealth and influence created a power imbalance which made me feel powerless.”
During Brand’s four-week trial, the jury heard how he preyed on women he encountered on his way to becoming one of Britain’s best-known comedians, a lauded TV and radio host, and a Hollywood star.
He claimed to have only ever had consensual sex during a “promiscuous” life, which he insisted had been packed with “idiocy” but never illegal.
But his victims told a different story, of a famous and powerful man who kissed and groped women within seconds of meeting them, pursued his sexual ambitions relentlessly, and laughed at and gaslit women after the attacks.
Friends and former colleagues of Brand also came forward to give evidence of his ambition to sleep with 5000 women, an “insane” sexual appetite, and his bad behaviour towards women being “normalised” as he became increasingly famous.
Brand was convicted by the jury of raping a 21-year-old fan in 2009, after meeting her following one of his stand-up shows at the Hammersmith Apollo.
The woman told jurors she was a huge Brand fan and had willingly engaged in a threesome with him backstage despite having a boyfriend at the time.
She agreed to go to Brand’s Hampstead home for sex a few days later. A consensual encounter turned into rape when he suddenly forced the woman into anal sex.
Another woman told the court how Brand groped her breasts in the Nordic bar in Soho, just seconds after she had been introduced to him at a 2004 party.
In 2005, Brand kissed and groped a third woman during a visit to the Capital Radio studios in London, pouncing on her as she walked out of a room.
She remembers looking to Brand’s entourage for help. No one came to her aid, and she eventually managed to push him away.
Brand was also convicted of putting his head into the groin of a female Channel 4 worker, after she had been forced to give him a massage in 2009.
Following Brand’s convictions, the Metropolitan Police revealed he is under investigation for two further rape allegations.
Commissioner Mark Rowley Mark Rowley said his officers were braced for “many, many more” possible victims to come forward.
-with PA and AP
1800 RESPECT 1800 737 732
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
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