Judge calls Russell Brand a 'sexual predator,' hands him 10 1/2 years

Judge Joel Bennathan did not soften the moment. He told Brand he had shown a “casual and arrogant disregard” for any woman who told him no, and that the man once celebrated for his charisma had become “a sexual predator.” Brand, 51, listened with little expression, then mouthed “we'll be OK” to his wife before court officers took him away.

A jury of eight men and four women convicted Brand of attacking four of six accusers on allegations stretching back to 2004. He was cleared of two counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault. Brand, who had been free during the trial, was jailed after Thursday's verdict.

Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones said Brand weaponized his celebrity. “He used it to facilitate access to women without which the offending could not have taken place,” she told the court, adding that it fed his belief he could offend “with impunity.” Defense lawyer Ian Winter asked the judge to weigh Brand's good character, noting his only prior conviction was marijuana possession in 1995 and pointing to charitable work and help he gave others fighting drug and alcohol addiction.

The women described the wreckage in their own words. One, assaulted at a London bar birthday party in 2004, said it left her feeling like “damaged goods” and that she felt “visibly sick” watching him celebrated on television. A former fan raped at his home in 2009 after meeting him backstage said she drank heavily and struggled to eat and sleep, and only came forward once police opened an investigation. Another said hearing his voice made her “jump.” One victim spoke from behind a curtain to protect her identity.

Brand's wife, Laura, and his father, Ron Brand, were in Southwark Crown Court to support him. Outside, a couple of backers holding a banner with crosses declared, “Russell Brand we stand with you. Christ was crucified for telling the truth. Russell is the truth.” The accusers came forward after a 2023 investigation by The Times and Channel 4 aired accounts from women who said Brand had sexually abused and degraded them.

Brand rose in the early 2000s hosting TV programs and his own BBC radio show, appeared in films including “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him to the Greek,” and was briefly married to Katy Perry. In recent years he left mainstream media, relocated to Florida and built a large online following with videos mixing wellness, conspiracy theories and his Christian faith.