The Japan Times - Russell Brand Convicted of Rape and Sexual Assault; Faces Custodial Sentence

Former comedian and actor Russell Brand was found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault on Friday, concluding a four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court that examined allegations spanning a decade of his career. The jury cleared him of two further counts of rape and one charge of attempted indecent assault.

The convictions relate to incidents involving four different women. Brand was found guilty of raping a 21-year-old fan after meeting her at a stand-up show at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2009. He was also convicted of sexually assaulting a Channel 4 worker in 2009, who had been forced to give him a massage.

The remaining convictions involved two other women. Brand was found guilty of kissing and groping a Capital Radio worker in a corridor in 2005, as well as groping an MTV worker during a party at a Soho bar in 2004.

Following the verdict, Mr Justice Bennathan addressed Brand directly, stating: "You’ve been convicted of a number of offences including rape. The consequence of that is inevitably a significant custodial term." The judge added that his current view was to remand Brand into custody immediately. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for Monday.

The allegations, made by six female complainants, covered a 10-year period between 1999 and 2009. Brand had denied all charges throughout the trial.

During the proceedings, Brand appeared in the witness box from Southwark Crown Court, describing the criminal case as a "deeply traumatic episode" in his life. He acknowledged achieving "staggering fame" following his marriage to pop star Katy Perry but noted that since a 2023 investigation by Channel 4 Dispatches into the allegations surrounding him, he had become socially isolated.

"Consent is absolutely non-negotiable," Brand told the court, adding that he was "innocent" of all the charges. He emphasized that consent was "fundamental, essential, necessary and, indeed, in many ways more important than sex itself."

Brand’s wife, Laura Gallacher, who shares three children with him, also gave evidence. She told the court that she and Brand fell in love after meeting in 2006 but noted that the comedian was unfaithful to her early in their relationship.

"I wasn’t interested in having a relationship with him if he was sleeping with other people," Gallacher said. "I was invested, we both had told each other we loved each other, but it was clear it was difficult for him to be monogamous." Despite this, she insisted Brand was a "wonderful father" and an "amazingly attentive husband," describing their marriage as "very frank, honest and clear."

The jury heard detailed accounts from the alleged victims regarding how Brand allegedly switched behavior after appearing charming. The complainants stated that he forced them into sexual activity in various locations, including a toilet, a hotel room, workplace corridors, and his bedroom, before acting as if nothing had happened.

One complainant, who met Brand before he was famous in 1999, testified that she attended the Labour party conference that year. She said Brand raped her in a hotel room after she watched him perform in a cabaret show.

Another allegation involved an MTV worker who gave evidence that Brand tried to drag her into a toilet at his central London offices in 2001. A separate incident described a woman being groped during a birthday party at a Soho bar, then dragged to a toilet and forced to perform oral sex on him.

A radio worker in London told the court she was pinned against a wall and subjected to "sloppy" kisses by Brand in 2005. The final allegation involved a woman who was forced to give Brand a massage, during which he put his head into her lap.

Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC delivered a closing speech on Friday, October 30, telling jurors that the six women who came forward did not know one another and had nothing to gain from their accusations.

"There is no benefit to them, apart from perhaps some closure by coming before you and telling their accounts of what happened to them so long ago," Karmy-Jones said. "What’s happened, we suggest, is these women have realised they’re not alone and they’ve bravely come before you to tell the truth. The truth of what happened to them so many years ago. The truth they have lived with, which in some cases has haunted them for years."

Giving evidence for more than four hours, Brand admitted to a past lifestyle of "beyond reckless philandering and idiocy." He stated he had been wrong to use his fame to facilitate sexual access but denied having a specific goal to sleep with 5,000 women.

"As I became more successful and famous I was very comfortable allowing that to facilitate sexual access, which I agree was wrong," Brand told the court. He also recounted being blocked from visiting his baby son when he was undergoing open heart surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital in the wake of the 2023 allegations, noting he had failed to find any friends or former colleagues willing to give evidence in his defense.

H.Nakamura--JT