Russell Brand Jailed for 10 Years and Six Months Over Rape and Sexual Assaults

Russell Brand was jailed for 10 years and six months on Monday after being convicted of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others during the years when his comedy career was taking off.

The 51-year-old comedian and actor stood in the dock at Southwark Crown Court in London as Judge Joel Bennathan handed down the sentence. Brand was convicted last week on four of the seven counts he faced, after a four-week trial, and he had denied the charges throughout.

“The total sentence is one of ten years, six months,” Bennathan said as he passed sentence.

Nine years for the rape, the rest served together

The sentence is made up of nine years in prison for the rape count, to be served consecutively, and shorter terms for the three sexual assault counts, to be served concurrently. The longest of the sexual assault terms was 18 months, with the other two set at nine months and eight months.

Brand must serve two-thirds of the total sentence in custody before he is eligible to be released on licence. Reuters reported that the 51-year-old will serve two-thirds of the sentence before being released on licence.

The offences took place between 2004 and 2009. Brand was found guilty of raping a 21-year-old woman he had met at one of his shows in 2009, and of sexually assaulting three other women at a bar, a radio station and a television studio.

“Staggering arrogance”

Bennathan was unsparing in his assessment of Brand’s conduct. He said the sexual assaults and the rape had been fuelled by Brand’s “staggering arrogance”, and told him he had shown a “casual and arrogant disregard” for any woman who said no to him.

The judge said Brand had “become a sexual predator” as he rose to fame two decades ago, building a public image around boasts of erotic exploits while attacking women behind the scenes.

But Bennathan also gave weight to mitigation. He noted that 17 years had passed since Brand’s last offence, and that the actor had been “doing good, especially in assisting those wrestling with addictions”. He said that while good character would not usually justify a reduction in a prison sentence, it “would be wrong to disregard mitigation altogether”.

What the jury decided

The jury of eight men and four women found Brand guilty of attacking four of his six accusers. He was cleared of two further counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault.

Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones told the court that Brand had abused the influence and power that came with his fame. NPR reported that Brand had been free during the trial but was jailed following Thursday’s verdict, and had spent the last four nights at HMP Wandsworth in south-west London before returning to court for sentencing.

The Metropolitan Police has said Brand was under investigation for two other alleged rapes, one involving a then-16-year-old girl. No charges have been brought in those cases.

From fame to the dock

Brand’s fall has been one of the most dramatic in British entertainment. He went from stand-up comic and MTV host to one of Britain’s most high-profile broadcasters and a Hollywood star, and was for a time the husband of US pop singer Katy Perry.

In recent years he moved away from the mainstream, reinventing himself as a political commentator and Christian convert with a large online following. The father of three built a new audience in the United States, where his videos drew praise from figures on the right.

That reinvention is now over, at least for the years he will spend in prison. Brand must serve two-thirds of his sentence before he is eligible for release on licence.

In other entertainment news this week, the documentary “You Can See Everything” swept the Critics Choice Documentary Awards with five wins.