Russell Brand has been sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison after being convicted of rape and sexual assault. He is expected to serve roughly seven years before being released on licence.
Brand remained silent as the sentence was read out at Southwark Crown Court on Monday, and mouthed "I love you" to his wife, Laura, as he was led from the courtroom.
Justice Bennathan detailed Brand's crimes at length before sentencing, citing witness impact statements from the three victims. The judge said Brand acted with "staggering arrogance" during the attacks and that members of his entourage frequently "indulged" his "dreadful behavior." Concluding his remarks, the judge said: "Whatever women wear, wherever they go, indeed whatever they drink, they retain the right to say 'no' and to demand justice from criminal courts when sexual predators like you, Russell Brand, act without their consent."
The sentencing followed a four-week trial, at the end of which a jury on Thursday found the comedian and presenter guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. He was acquitted of two further rape charges and of attempted indecent assault. The Metropolitan Police has confirmed Brand is also under investigation over additional rape allegations from women unconnected to the trial.
The victims, who have lifelong anonymity, delivered their statements from behind a curtain. One said she had been left "in shock and turmoil for weeks," describing herself as "extremely upset and traumatised," and said she felt "physically sick" when she saw Brand in the media. "I just want to say, a leopard may change its spots, but it's still a leopard," she added. Another victim told the court: "Russell Brand is a sexual predator who has no remorse. [..] I just hope he is not allowed to hurt any more women."
Brand's defence argued he is "a fundamentally different person today" and said his wife is suffering "total devastation" over the convictions. His lawyer, Ian Winter, told the court the couple is "wrestling" with how to explain the situation to their 10-year-old child. Journalists in court noted Laura Brand shook her head as one victim read her impact statement.
The rape conviction relates to a woman who met Brand at his 2009 gig at the Hammersmith Apollo. She told police that a week later, at his house, consensual sex was followed by Brand turning her onto her front and anally raping her. She said she felt unable to speak or breathe, told him to stop first quietly and then loudly, and that afterward Brand told her: "You need to clear up the mess you made."
The three sexual assault convictions cover a 2004 incident in which Brand grabbed a victim's breasts at a Soho bar, a 2004/2005 incident at Capital Radio in which he pushed a victim against a wall and kissed and grabbed her body aggressively, and a 2009 incident in which he pressed his head and nose into the vaginal area of a female colleague.
The trial and verdicts gripped Britain, prompting questions across the entertainment industry and the wider public about how Brand's behaviour went unreported for so long.
