British actor and comedian: Russell Brand found guilty of rape

The jury deliberated for eight and a half hours to come to the conclusion: The comedian and actor Russell Brand is guilty. That is significantly less time than was originally allotted for the trial, which began on October 12th at London's Southwark Crown Court. The jury should be ready for appointments for six weeks. In the end, the process only took three and a half.

Six women testified against Brand during this time. He was accused of rape, sexual violence and attempted sexual assault in a total of seven cases during a period between 1999 and 2009. The 51-year-old has now been found guilty in four of these cases, including one case of rape and three cases of sexual violence. Brand was acquitted of two other counts of rape and one count of attempted sexual assault.

Accordingly, Brand's punishment will be “significant,” as the responsible judge explained this week. The maximum penalty for rape under English law is life imprisonment. However, the sentence usually varies between 4 and 19 years. How long Brand will have to go to prison will be announced next Monday.

During the trial, the six women, who are entitled to lifelong anonymity under English law, recounted their encounters with Brand. The descriptions were similar: Many women initially knew Brand, who at the time worked as a presenter for MTV and later as an actor for several Hollywood productions, as a charming person. In intimate moments, however, his behavior suddenly changed. Brand is said to have taken advantage of his popularity to gain access to sex with colleagues and fans, sometimes forcibly. In court, Brand, who often appeared at the trial with his wife Laura Brand, denied all allegations.

Allegations of sexual assault against Brand first became known to a wider public in 2023. That year, a documentary about Brand's treatment of women was released on the British broadcaster Channel 4. During the trial, his defense repeatedly alluded to the fact that the plaintiffs' statements could have been "inspired" by the documentary and presented the allegations as a media campaign.

It is no coincidence that the subtitle of the documentary is “In plain sight”, literally translated: “In plain sight”. Brand had previously made few secrets about his behavior in numerous public statements. Sexual acts and suggestions were a regular part of his repertoire as a comedian and presenter.

In 2008, he allegedly exposed himself in front of a woman in a bathroom and later joked about the incident on his radio show. A 2013 essay in a popular British magazine begins: “When I was asked to guest edit an issue of the New Statesman, I said yes because it was a beautiful woman who asked me.”

In later video blogs, in which Brand indulged in conspiracy narratives and Christian spiritualism, among other things, he acknowledged promiscuous and "unpleasant" behavior, but swore that he had always acted consensually and "within the law" when it came to women.

Following the court case, the Metropolitan Police said it was investigating two other previously known allegations of rape. One of them relates to a time when Brand, aged 30, had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old British schoolgirl.

Brand remains in custody until the sentence is announced. The competent court prohibited him from being released on bail until then.