Russell Brand sentenced to 10.5 years for rape
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The gist
British comedian Russell Brand, 51, was sentenced to 10 years and six months for rape and sexual assault.
The judge called him a sexual predator; he serves at least seven years.
Background
Russell Brand is a British actor and comedian, 51, convicted of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault involving four women between 2004 and 2009. Judge Joel Bennathan said Brand's status protected him until 2023, when journalists from the Sunday Times, the Times and Channel 4's Dispatches (an investigative TV programme) outlined misconduct allegations, leading women to make complaints to police. Brand was convicted days after jurors returned a mixed verdict on the rape and sexual assault charges.
How it unfolded
- Nov 5, 2026Brand was convicted of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault between 2004 and 2009; he was acquitted of two additional rape charges and a charge of attempted indecent assault.
- Nov 9, 2026At Southwark Crown Court in London, Judge Joel Bennathan sentenced Brand to 10 years and six months: nine years for rape plus 18 months, nine months and eight months for the three sexual assaults.
- Nov 9, 2026Brand did not react in the dock and mouthed "I love you" to his wife Laura Brand before being taken down to the cells. Under guidelines he is eligible for release at the two-thirds point, seven years, and the sentence is excluded from the early release scheme.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Judge Joel Bennathan called Brand a "sexual predator" with "staggering arrogance" and a "casual arrogant disregard to any woman's right to say no," saying his entourage had "indulged your dreadful behaviour."
- Victim
- A woman sexually assaulted by Brand in 2005 said in a statement read in court she had been in "shock and turmoil for years" and that "a leopard may change its spots but it's still a leopard."
Still unverified
Sources differ on the day of sentencing: one report says Brand was sentenced Monday, while a photo caption in another refers to "Russell Brand on Tuesday."