LONDON -- Russell Brand faces a reckoning Monday for sexual abuse that occurred just offstage from a public life built around boasts of his erotic exploits. Brand, 51, could receive a significant prison term after being convicted of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others. The British actor-comedian known for outrageous stand-up routines and battles with drugs and alcohol asserted that he was innocent and all his encounters were consensual. But a jury of eight men and four women found him guilty of attacking four of six accusers on allegations dating back to 2004. He was cleared of two counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault. Brand wore a grey suit and open collar shirt with loose white tie. His long, greying hair was pulled back and knotted in a man bun atop his head. He had arrived at Southwark Crown Court in a prison van shortly after his wife, Laura, entered the courthouse without him. Brand had been free during the trial but was jailed following the verdict and did not go home Thursday with his wife. A couple of Brand’s supporters who reflected his recent conversion to Christianity held a banner with crosses that said: “Russell Brand we stand with you. Christ was crucified for telling the truth. Russell is the truth.” Brand was partly damned at trial by his own words about his obsession with sex and his well-documented life of promiscuity. Brand called a ‘sexual predator’ Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones called Brand a ruthless, calculating, manipulative “sexual predator” who treated women as a “disposable commodity.” She quoted from his 2007 memoir “My Booky Wook” to illustrate how his insatiable sex drive led him to cross the line. “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,” he wrote. The accusers came forward following a 2023 investigation by The Times and Channel 4 that aired accusations from women who said they had been sexually abused and degraded by Brand. Brand was convicted of sexually assaulting a woman during a birthday party at a London bar in 2004, but cleared of orally raping her in a restroom. Victims tell court it was difficult to see Brand being celebrated in public One of the women he was convicted of assaulting spoke in court about the impact of the crime and three others, including the rape victim, provided statements read by the prosecutor. The woman said the assault left her in shock and turmoil and made her feel like “damaged goods.” “For many years as his star was rising it was impossible to escape seeing him all over the media, being celebrated for his disgusting behavior against women like it was all a joke,” she said. “There were many times I felt visibly sick at the sight of him parading around thinking he can get away with anything.” Brand stared straight ahead as she spoke out of view, hidden from the public behind a curtain to preserve her identity. He was also found guilty of kissing and groping another woman at a London radio station in 2004 or 2005 and of anally raping a fan at his home after meeting her backstage at one of his comedy shows in 2009. In a statement read in court by Karmy-Jones, the woman in the 2005 attack said it had a lasting impact on her life. “Since the sexual assault ... Russell Brand has managed to move on and even forget,” she said. “Over the years, hearing his voice on television, on social media or seeing his image made me jump.” The final conviction was for sexually assaulting a different woman who says the comedian demanded a massage and pressed his face into her groin during the recording of an advertisement in 2009. Brand was acquitted of raping another woman in a hotel room during the Labour Party’s annual conference in the seaside town of Bournemouth in 1999, and of attempting to indecently assault a woman by dragging her into the men’s bathroom at the London office of music channel MTV. The Associated Press doesn’t name victims of alleged sexual violence, and British law protects their identities from the media for life. Brand, who was known for edgy stand-up routines and battles with drugs and alcohol, rose to prominence in the early 2000s hosting television programs and his own BBC radio show. He appeared in Hollywood films including “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him to the Greek” and was briefly married to pop star Katy Perry. In recent years he has moved away from mainstream media, relocated to Florida and built a large online following with videos mixing wellness, conspiracy theories and discussions of his religious devotion. By Brian Melley If you or someone you know is struggling with sexual assault or trauma, the following resources are available to support people in crisis:
