Russell Brand convicted of rape and sexual assault, sentencing set for 9 November

The verdict and the convictions

Russell Brand was found guilty at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday 5 November on four of seven counts, after a jury of eight men and four women deliberated for less than nine hours. The 51-year-old was convicted of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others, and the allegations date back to 2004. He was cleared of two rape counts and one count of attempted indecent assault. Brand, who insisted he was innocent and that all his encounters were consensual, was remanded in custody once the verdicts were delivered. Sentencing is set for 9 November, and reports expect a long prison term.

The guilty verdicts include a sexual assault on a woman at a birthday party in a London bar in 2004, a case in which he was cleared of orally raping her in a restroom. He was also convicted of kissing and groping a woman at a London radio station in 2004 or 2005. A further conviction concerns the rape of a fan at his home after she met him backstage at one of his comedy shows in 2009. The final conviction involves a woman who says he demanded a massage and pressed his face into her groin while an advertisement was being recorded in 2009.

Trial and evidence

Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC described Brand as calculating and manipulative, and quoted from his 2007 memoir My Booky Wook to illustrate his sex drive. The accusers came forward after a 2023 investigation by The Times and Channel 4, and a Dispatches documentary that same year aired accusations from women. Katy Perry, his former wife, was removed from the prosecution's opening speech after submissions from Brand's legal team, and prosecutors agreed to leave out his religious past, including his 2024 baptism in the River Thames. Defence barrister Ian Winter KC objected to the prosecution relying on Brand's dependency on drink and drugs, so jurors did not hear those details. Parts of his own writing about sex and promiscuity were nonetheless central to the case.

Further investigation and a civil claim

Detectives are investigating alleged rapes of two more women. Detective superintendent Andy Furphy, who led a three-year Metropolitan Police probe, said "our work is not done" and described a "very distinct possibility" that the conviction will prompt others to speak out. One allegation under investigation was featured in the 2023 Dispatches documentary, and the woman involved says she was 16 when Brand sent a car to collect her from school for sexual encounters. A separate civil lawsuit filed in the United States in 2023 claims he sexually assaulted a woman on a movie set.

Perry, the BBC and the wider reaction

The Mail on Sunday reported on 8 November that Katy Perry is in active talks about a book and a documentary series covering her marriage to Brand, and that her team has approached Netflix and Hulu. Perry was never called as a witness, and the report says she chose to wait until the trial ended before considering any project. Documents published after the verdict suggest she may have been present in 2009 when the advertisement assault took place. Separately, a 2010 clip of the couple at the Vanity Fair Oscars party has resurfaced on X, where 7sur7 reports it passed three million views. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the BBC needs to do more to stamp out sexual abuse within the corporation, and said several young women at the broadcaster say abuse is continuing. A senior officer said Brand and his wife trod "a fine line" by uploading videos about the case while the trial was active.