Russell Brand Convicted of Rape and Sexual Assault

The jury found Brand guilty of one rape charge and three sexual assault charges. The case involved allegations by six women concerning events from 1999 to 2009, as Brand’s public profile grew from that of an unknown actor to major fame. He denied all the allegations.

Brand had faced three rape charges, three sexual assault charges and an attempted indecent assault charge. The attempted assault charge had been reduced during the trial. The verdict followed a trial that lasted less than four weeks.

The court heard from the women, who have a lifelong right to anonymity, as well as Brand, his wife and other witnesses. The women came forward after allegations about Brand appeared in a 2023 Channel 4 documentary and in The Times.

Brand’s defense argued that the documentary had compromised the accusers’ accounts and badly harmed his life. Prosecutors said it prompted the women to speak, but did not make them invent or alter memories of encounters that had troubled them for years.