British Comedian and Actor Russell Brand Sentenced to 10.5 Years in Prison

The 51-year-old Brand was found guilty by a jury of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault in connection with offences alleged to have taken place between 2004 and 2009. He was acquitted of two separate rape charges and one charge of attempted sexual assault.

SIX WOMEN BROUGHT ALLEGATIONS

Brand stood trial over allegations of sexual assault and rape involving six women between 1999 and 2009. The actor denied three rape charges, three sexual assault charges and one charge of attempted sexual assault, maintaining that he had never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity.

During the four-week trial, prosecutors described Brand as a “sexual predator”. According to the prosecution, Brand used his growing fame and influence to pursue sexual relationships with women while disregarding their wishes.

The women described their experiences during the trial, but their identities were withheld under British legislation prohibiting the public identification of victims of sexual offences.

Senior prosecutor David Roberts said in a statement following the guilty verdict on November 5 that the evidence showed Brand had used his fame and power to draw women into sexual situations against their will. Roberts said that, thanks to the women's courage, Brand would now face the consequences of his actions.

BRAND: USING MY FAME TO FACILITATE SEX WAS WRONG

Giving evidence during the trial, Brand said he had been “persuasive, seductive, pleading and flirtatious” when pursuing relationships with women in the past, and that he had spent much of his life engaging in behaviour he now regarded as “irresponsible womanising and stupidity”.

Brand acknowledged that he had allowed his fame to make it easier for him to gain access to sex, saying this had been wrong. However, he maintained that consent had always been central to his sexual relationships.

Defence lawyer Ian Winter, meanwhile, argued that treating women badly before, during or after sexual encounters did not in itself constitute a criminal offence or prove that such an offence had been committed.

Brand's wife, Laura Brand, was the only character witness who agreed to testify in his defence.