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UK court convicts actor Russell Brand on sex charges and sets sentencing date
A London jury convicted British actor and comedian Russell Brand on four charges involving four women and acquitted him on three others. Brand denied all the charges, and the court is scheduled to sentence him on Monday, November 9.
A jury at London’s Southwark Crown Court convicted British actor and comedian Russell Brand, 51, on Thursday, November 5, on one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault involving four women.
The eight-man, four-woman jury acquitted Brand of two further rape charges and one charge of attempted indecent assault. Brand had pleaded not guilty to all seven charges, insisting that all the relationships were consensual. Under British law, complainants in such cases are guaranteed lifelong anonymity.
The BBC said the jury deliberated for around eight and a half hours over two days before announcing its verdicts, while Euronews reported that the four guilty verdicts were unanimous.
Next legal steps
Judge Joel Bennathan said the verdicts meant a “substantial” prison sentence was “inevitable” and ordered Brand to remain in custody until the sentencing hearing scheduled for Monday, November 9, at the same court.
Brand had been free on bail throughout the trial. His lawyer, Ian Winter, asked for his release over the weekend so he could say goodbye to his three children, but the judge rejected the request, saying the defendant had “substantial resources” and that there were serious grounds to fear he might not attend the sentencing hearing.
The Metropolitan Police said a separate investigation into complaints made by two other women was still ongoing. Those complaints were not part of the trial.
Brand speaks to reporters as he arrives at court on the first day of the trial, October 14, 2026.
Background to the case
The allegations first emerged in September 2023 in a joint investigation by the British broadcaster Channel 4’s “Dispatches” programme and The Times and Sunday Times newspapers. Brand strongly denied the allegations at the time, while police opened an investigation during which they collected more than 340 witness statements, according to the BBC.
The first charges were brought against him in April 2025 and related to incidents between 1999 and 2005. Two further charges involving two other women were later added. The trial began on October 14, 2026.
Brand became known in Britain during the first decade of the 2000s as a comedian and television and radio presenter. He appeared in Hollywood films and was married to American singer Katy Perry from 2010 to 2012. In recent years, he moved to the U.S. state of Florida and began producing online content.
The defense and official positions
Brand told the court during his testimony that he had never forced anyone to do anything, while his lawyers argued that the complainants had not gone to the police until years later, after the 2023 television investigation was broadcast. The BBC said Brand showed no emotion as the verdicts were read.
Andy Verfey, a Metropolitan Police investigator, said Brand had “exploited his influence, status and fame” to commit these offenses against women, expressing hope that the convictions would send the message that “no one is above the law, regardless of their fame or influence.” David Roberts, chief crown prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, also said Brand had exploited his status as a public figure to commit these offenses.
Photos: Euronews
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