Russell Brand convicted of rape and multiple sexual assault charges

Russell Brand is facing years behind bars after a jury found him guilty of raping a fan and sexually assaulting three other women during the height of his fame.

Brand, now 51, targeted women he met as he rose to become one of Britain’s most recognisable stand-up comedians, a successful TV and radio presenter and, later, a Hollywood film star.

Jurors heard harrowing accounts from his victims, who described being pushed into sexual activity—sometimes moments after first meeting him—as Brand leveraged celebrity status while pursuing what prosecutors said was an ambition to have sex with 5,000 women.

Southwark Crown Court was told Brand, who previously bragged he would not stop chasing sex until he got his “birthright orgasm”, ignored women’s pleas for him to stop.

Six women gave evidence in the case. Brand, once married to Katy Perry, did not call any celebrity friends or former showbusiness colleagues to testify on his behalf.

A jury found Brand guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, after deliberating for eight and a half hours

Russell Brand, with his wife Laura Gallacher, arriving at Southwark Crown Court

A jury found Brand guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault.

He was found not guilty of two additional rape allegations and one count of attempted indecent assault.

In the dock, Brand showed little reaction as the verdicts were read, apart from closing his eyes as the rape conviction was announced.

He responded loudly “yes My Lord” when remanded into custody after being warned he faced a lengthy sentence.

Moments earlier, Brand told his wife, Laura Gallacher—daughter of Ryder Cup-winning golfer Bernard Gallacher—“I love you” before stepping into the dock to hear the jury’s decision.

Ms Gallacher was seen hunching over in the public gallery as Brand was told he now faces an inevitable prison term.

His barrister, Ian Winter KC, urged the judge to grant bail over the weekend as an “act of humanity” so Brand could say goodbye to his children. The request was refused amid concerns he might flee rather than return to court.

Russell Brand preyed on women using fame and influence, say police

Russell Brand’s wife leaves court after he was found guilty

Brand is due to be sentenced on Monday next week and now faces the prospect of a long prison term, more than three years after he was first publicly accused of being a rapist and sexual predator.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed that inquiries continue into two separate rape allegations made against Brand.

Pre-trial hearings revealed that one complaint involves a woman who said she dated Brand when he was 30 and she was a 16-year-old schoolgirl.

It can also now be reported that additional women approached police after the initial accusations, and prosecutors are considering whether further charges should follow.

Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who led the Metropolitan Police investigation, praised the “extraordinary courage, resilience and determination” of the women who gave evidence.

He said: “Despite intense media and public scrutiny, they relived deeply personal and traumatic experiences and placed their trust in us. Without their bravery, this outcome would not have been possible.

“Brand used his influence, status and fame to prey on and exploit women. As his profile grew, so too did his sense of entitlement. I hope this conviction sends a clear message that no one is above the law, no matter how famous or powerful they may be.”

David Roberts, Senior Crown Prosecutor in the London Rape and Serious Sexual Assault Unit, said: “Russell Brand was predatory and used his celebrity status to commit sexual crimes. He was a manipulator with an insatiable desire to get what he wanted regardless of whether consent was given or not.”

The Met has confirmed investigations are ongoing into two allegations of rape made against Brand

In September 2023, journalists at The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 Dispatches published accounts from women who alleged they had been raped, sexually abused and degraded by Brand.

Those reports prompted four women to bring forward criminal complaints, with two more coming forward after Brand was charged.

During his peak years, The Sun newspaper named Brand ‘Shagger Of The Year’ three consecutive times, an illustration, the court heard, of how his conduct toward women was often brushed off—and even applauded—in parts of the entertainment world.

However, evidence during the criminal trial portrayed a different reality: prosecutors said Brand exploited his profile to obtain sex while reducing women to objects, amid allegations that his entourage and senior figures in showbusiness helped “normalise” sexual misconduct and failed to act on complaints.

Brand’s breakthrough on television came in 2004 when he was picked to present Big Brother’s Big Mouth. The court heard that within months of the show launching, he sexually assaulted a woman at the Nordic bar in Soho, central London.

At a party with former MTV colleagues, jurors were told, Brand grabbed the woman’s breasts while standing in the middle of the bar.

She alleged he dragged her into the men’s toilets and orally raped her, though the jury acquitted Brand of that rape count.

Explaining why she did not go to police at the time, the woman told the court the era’s “lad culture” shaped her thinking: “He was a celebrity and it would be his word against mine.

“I just thought the odds weren’t in my favour.”

A Capital Radio employee said Brand forced himself on her during a 2005 visit to the station, pinning her against a wall as he groped her and kissed her “sloppily”.

She said members of Brand’s entourage watched and laughed, despite her looking toward them and pleading for help.

The court also heard evidence from a devoted Russell Brand fan who said she agreed to a threesome with him in 2009 after one of his shows at the Hammersmith Apollo.

She told jurors that a few days later, overwhelmed by his celebrity, the then 21-year-old—who was in a relationship—went to Brand’s £2.3 million townhouse in Hampstead intending to have sex.

But she said the meeting began with Brand unnervingly demanding she strip, shower and brush her teeth before they got into bed.

She described “awkward” consensual sex, before alleging Brand raped her by forcing non-consensual anal sex and ignoring her cries of pain.

Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC told the jury women were a “disposable commodity” to Brand, branding him a “sexual predator”.

“They didn’t matter to him. He didn’t even need to know their names. They were just a means to an end.”

The woman said she later encountered Brand at the Edinburgh Festival, where he apologised after she told him he had treated her “like an animal”.

The jury also heard that during a 2009 Channel 4 recording session, two members of Brand’s entourage—Jack Bayles and Gareth Roy—pressured a young female staffer into giving him a massage.

After she reluctantly agreed, the court heard, Brand pushed his head into the woman’s groin and only stopped when he appeared offended by her remark about his “bony” body.

“I was so repulsed by the situation,” she told the court, adding that she later complained to Channel 4 management.

Brand was acquitted of raping a woman at the Labour Party conference in 1999, after meeting her following one of his cabaret shows.

He was also cleared of attempting to indecently assault an MTV worker after allegedly pulling her toward a toilet at her workplace.

Brand’s career arc was rehearsed in court: he was dismissed by MTV after mocking 9/11, then became a breakout star through Channel 4’s Big Brother, went on to front a BBC Radio 2 programme, and later appeared in Hollywood films alongside Tom Cruise, Mila Kunis, Jonah Hill and Helen Mirren, including Arthur, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Rock Of Ages.

As mainstream stardom ebbed, he became involved in left-wing politics, later reinvented himself as a wellness figure, and built a podcast presence focused on alt-right talking points and conspiracy theories.

Brand’s treatment for alcohol, drug and sex addiction was largely kept out of the trial. Still, jurors heard from his former personal assistant, Helen Berger, who said she had seen him conduct interviews in his underpants, become depressed after sex and treat women badly.

Ms Berger told the court she resigned after growing “sick of him” and said those around him at the time were “normalising bad behaviour”.

Brand denied every allegation and argued the case was a media-driven conspiracy.

Asked in the witness box whether he blamed the media for his downfall, Brand replied: “In some ways.”

A court sketch shows Brand during an earlier hearing

When confronted with the evidence, Brand insisted he valued consent but struggled to recall the interactions described by his accusers.

He also advanced a series of claims in his defence that the women could not have been raped because they did not run away, fight back or scream for help during the alleged attacks.

Ian Winter KC further suggested to jurors that Brand could not be a rapist because he was not accused during the #MeToo movement.

Jurors were also reminded of Brand’s own published words. In his 2007 book My Booky Wook, he described himself as “demonically sexy” and acknowledged he could be “uneasy company” when pursuing sex.

He wrote: “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.”

Throughout the trial, Brand continued producing podcasts with his wife and told his millions of followers on YouTube, Rumble and X that he felt God’s presence with him in court.

Now convicted, Brand must face the likelihood of spending years in prison and living the rest of his life on the sex offender’s register.