LONDON (AP) — Russell Brand, the risqué comic who bragged for years of his sexual exploits, was convicted Thursday of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others on allegations dating back years.
The British actor-comedian faces a “significant” prison term when he is sentenced Monday, Judge Joel Bennathan said. Brand had been free, but he was taken into custody after the judge rejected a bail request to let him see his kids because of the possibility he might flee.
“I regret the hardship caused to the children, of course,” the judge said. “But the hardship has been caused by serious criminal offending by their father.”
Brand was a ruthless, calculating, manipulative “sexual predator,” prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones said at trial.
The 51-year-old father of three denied the charges and testified that he was obsessed with sex as a young man and once led a promiscuous life but had never forced anyone to do something against their will.
Brand shows no emotion and tells lawyers ‘I’m good’
He was convicted of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. He was acquitted of two rape counts and one count of attempted indecent assault.
Brand closed his eyes as the guilty verdict on the rape count was read but showed no emotion otherwise. When bail was denied, he gestured to his lawyers that he was OK and repeatedly said, “I’m good, I’m good, I’m good,” before being taken away.
The jury of eight men and four women in Southwark Crown Court deliberated more than eight hours over two days.
After the verdicts, police confirmed they have provided prosecutors with their investigation into two more rape allegations against Brand.
Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy of London’s Metropolitan Police said the conviction was “a testament to the extraordinary courage, resilience and determination of the women who came forward and reported what happened to them.”
“Brand used his influence, status and fame to exploit and sexually offend against women,” he said. “As his profile grew, so too did his sense of entitlement.”
Brand’s evolution from bad boy to born again
Known for edgy stand-up routines and battles with drugs and alcohol, Brand rose to prominence in the early 2000s, hosting television programs and his own BBC radio show. He appeared in Hollywood films including “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him to the Greek” and was briefly married to pop star Katy Perry.
In recent years he has moved away from mainstream media, relocated to Florida and built a large online following with videos mixing wellness, conspiracy theories and discussions of his religious devotion.
The accusers came forward following a 2023 investigation by The Times and Channel 4 that aired accusations from women who said they had been sexually abused and degraded by Brand.
Allegations of assaults in toilets, bedrooms and workplaces
Brand was convicted of sexually assaulting a woman during a birthday party at a London bar in 2004, but cleared of orally raping her in a restroom.
He was also found guilty of kissing and groping another woman at a London radio station in 2004 or 2005 and of anally raping a fan at his home after meeting her backstage at one of his comedy shows in 2009.
The final conviction was for sexually assaulting a different woman who says the comedian demanded a massage and pressed his face into her groin during the recording of an advertisement in 2009.
Brand was acquitted of raping another woman in a hotel room during the Labour Party’s annual conference in the seaside town of Bournemouth in 1999, and of attempting to indecently assault a woman by dragging her into the men’s bathroom at the London office of music channel MTV.
The Associated Press doesn’t name victims of alleged sexual violence, and British law protects their identities from the media for life.
Prosecutor Karmy-Jones told jurors that women were a “disposable commodity” to Brand and she used his own words to illustrate his sex drive.
“If I want something – whether it’s a job or a woman – I will determinedly, resolutely, remove anything that’s in the way, until I possess the object of my desire,” he wrote in an excerpt from “My Booky Wook,” his 2007 memoir, read in court.
Brand’s former personal assistant Helen Berger testified against him, saying he had an “insane sexual appetite” and treated women poorly. She said his “bad behavior” was normalized by those around him and she eventually got “sick of him” and quit.
Brand rejected testimony by a former roommate who said he wanted to have sex with 5,000 women. But he acknowledged he had used his fame to have sex, which he said was wrong.
Brand told jurors that the criminal case had a devastating impact on his life and family.
“My entire life has been consumed by these events, these allegations, these accusations,” he said.
Brand’s lawyers argued that the alleged victims were undermined by the fact that they only went to police years after the alleged assaults and following the anonymous allegations against Brand in the Channel 4 documentary.
Brand testified that showbiz friends and colleagues had abandoned him.
His wife, Laura, who accompanied him to court, testified as a character witness in his defense, but no one with relevant evidence was willing to give evidence on his behalf, Brand said.
