A London jury convicted Brand of one rape and three sexual assaults and cleared him of three other counts. He will be sentenced on Monday.
Russell Brand was found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault by a jury at Southwark Crown Court in London on Thursday, and the judge, Mr Justice Joel Bennathan, told him the consequence was a “significant custodial term,” NBC News reported.
The 51-year-old comedian and actor was cleared of two other rape counts and one count of attempted indecent assault. The verdicts were unanimous, the Metropolitan Police said, and Brand will be sentenced at the same court on Monday, Nov. 9.
Guilty on Four Counts, Cleared on Three
Brand faced seven counts involving six women. The four offences he was convicted of involved four women and took place between 2004 and 2009, at locations including a radio station, the set of a DVD recording and his home, the Met said.
The rape conviction concerns a woman he met at one of his shows in 2009. The offence took place at his London home, according to Deadline’s count-by-count breakdown. Brand said the encounter was consensual.
The three sexual assaults were:
- grabbing a woman’s breasts at a party in a Soho bar in 2004;
- assaulting a woman at a London radio station in 2004 or 2005;
- assaulting a woman during a recording in 2009.
He was cleared of raping a woman in 1999 after the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth, of an alleged oral rape at the Soho bar in 2004, and of attempting to indecently assault an MTV worker in 2001. Deadline reported that the judge had reduced that last count from indecent assault during the trial, citing insufficient evidence.
Six women gave evidence. All are entitled to lifelong anonymity, and they did not know one another.
“Russell Brand was predatory and used his celebrity status to commit sexual crimes,” David Roberts, a senior crown prosecutor in London, said in a statement. The trial lasted four weeks, though it had been expected to take at least six.
Remanded in Custody Ahead of Sentencing
Bennathan remanded Brand in custody until sentencing. His barrister, Ian Winter KC, asked for bail over the weekend so Brand could say goodbye to his children. The judge refused.
“I think there are substantial grounds to fear he might in the end not feel able to come along and face his sentence,” Bennathan said, according to a Guardian report published by The Irish Times.
As he was led from the dock, Brand said, “I’m good, I’m good, I’m good,” the Guardian reported. The jury had deliberated for 8 hours and 30 minutes, according to the same report.
The maximum sentence for rape in the UK is life imprisonment. A single count of sexual assault carries up to 10 years, according to Britain’s Sentencing Council, as reported by NBC News.
Brand’s Defence and Denials
Brand pleaded not guilty to all counts. He denied the allegations, saying the encounters were consensual or had been reimagined or reframed after media reports in 2023.
He gave evidence in his own defence. “My entire life has been consumed by these events,” he told the court, NBC News reported.
Brand admitted he had used his fame for sexual access, describing himself as comfortable “allowing that to facilitate sexual access, which I agree was wrong.” He said he could not find a single friend or colleague to testify for him.
“Consent is fundamental, essential, necessary and indeed more important than sex itself,” he told jurors.
Winter argued that the 2023 documentary and press reports had “poisoned the well of justice” and denied Brand a fair trial, Deadline reported. Brand’s wife, Laura, testified for the defence and called him a caring father. The couple married in 2017 and have three children.
No statement from Brand or his lawyers on an appeal had been reported by Thursday evening.
Police Investigation Continues
The Met said an investigation into rape allegations made by two other women remains ongoing. No charges have been announced over them.
Detectives traced more than 100 witnesses, took more than 400 witness statements and reviewed over 1,400 documents, the Met said. There was no CCTV or forensic evidence.
“Brand used his influence, status and fame to exploit and sexually offend against women. As his profile grew, so too did his sense of entitlement,” said Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who led the inquiry. He praised the women who came forward.
“I hope this conviction sends a clear message that no one is above the law, no matter how famous or powerful they may be,” Furphy said. The Met urged anyone who may have been a victim of rape or serious sexual assault to speak to police.
The CPS said the women did not report the offences at the time, which it called not unusual, and that there is no typical timeframe for reporting.
“This case sends a clear message that fame and status do not change the fundamental issue of consent,” the CPS said. It added that it hoped the convictions would give other victims of sexual offending the confidence to come forward when they are ready.
Russell Brand, From Documentary to Courtroom
The women came forward after Channel 4’s Dispatches, The Times and The Sunday Times published allegations against Brand in September 2023.
The Met charged him in April 2025 with five offences involving four women. In December 2025, the CPS authorised two further charges, a rape and a sexual assault in 2009, involving two more women.
Brand rose to fame as a stand-up comedian and BBC Radio 2 host, and starred in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek. He was married to Katy Perry from 2010 to 2012. In recent years he moved to Florida and built an online following around politics, wellness and his Christian faith.
Channel 4 and BBC Respond
Channel 4 said in a statement, as reported by the Guardian: “We recognise the profound impact of these crimes and commend the extraordinary courage of all those who gave evidence as prosecution witnesses at trial.”
The BBC pointed to a 2025 review of how complaints about Brand’s conduct had been handled. “We apologised to those impacted, for both the culture and failings at the time, and we reiterate that apology again today,” a spokesperson said.
Featured image from: Cantab12, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons