Russell Brand jailed for 10 and a half years for rape and sexual assault

One of the women sexually assaulted by Brand spoke in court about being left in shock and feeling like “damaged goods”, the Associated Press reported. Three others, including the woman he raped, gave statements that were read by the prosecutor.

The woman who was raped said the impact had left her unable to work and that she had temporarily moved back in with her parents, according to Dutch news outlet Nieuws.nl.

A jury at Southwark Crown Court found the 51-year-old British comedian and actor guilty on 5 November of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault against four women. The offences took place between 2004 and 2009. He was acquitted of two further counts of rape and one of attempted indecent assault.

Brand maintained during his trial that he was innocent and that his sexual encounters were consensual. At the sentencing hearing, his barrister, Ian Winter KC, said Brand was now a “fundamentally different person” and urged the judge to treat the offences as isolated incidents rather than a pattern, Sky News reported.

When the court broke for lunch on Monday, Sky reported that Mr Justice Joel Bennathan would begin his sentencing remarks at 2pm. The judge had previously said Brand would receive a prison sentence.

Update

Russell Brand was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison on 9 November for raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others.

Mr Justice Joel Bennathan sentenced the British comedian and actor at Southwark Crown Court in London. The offences took place between 2004 and 2009.

A jury found Brand guilty on 5 November. At the same trial, he was acquitted of two further counts of rape and one of attempted indecent assault. Brand had denied the charges and said his sexual encounters were consensual.

Discussing one of the sexual assaults, Bennathan said it showed Brand’s “casual, arrogant disregard of any woman’s right to say ‘no’ to you”. Of a separate assault, the judge said Brand believed his fame allowed him to act without regard for normal rules of behaviour.

The judge said he had taken into account the harm caused by the women’s continued exposure to Brand in the media. He also considered the absence of significant previous convictions, the 17 years since the last offence and Brand’s work helping people with addictions. Bennathan reduced the rape sentence he would otherwise have imposed by one year.