Russell Brand guilty of rape, faces life in prisonWorld

The jury found him guilty of groping a woman during a party at a Soho bar in 2004, of sexually assaulting a radio station worker in 2004 or 2005, and of sexually assaulting a Channel 4 worker during a forced massage in 2009. He was cleared of raping a woman he met at a cabaret show in Bournemouth in 1999, of trying to drag an MTV worker into a toilet to indecently assault her in 2001, and of orally raping the woman from the Soho bar.

Brand had faced seven charges involving six women, with the alleged incidents spanning from 1999 to 2009, the years in which he rose from performing stand-up in small venues to becoming a television presenter and Hollywood film star. He pleaded not guilty to all of the charges and maintained throughout that all of the sexual activity at the heart of the trial was consensual.

The trial began on 12 October and lasted three weeks, with the jury hearing evidence from the complainants and from Brand himself. Jurors deliberated for about two days before returning their verdicts.

Judge Joel Bennathan remanded Brand in custody after the verdicts and told him he faced a lengthy prison sentence, saying that obviously a custodial sentence of some length would result. Brand, who faces up to life in prison on the rape conviction, will be sentenced on Monday, 9 November.

The charges were announced by British prosecutors in September 2025, after a lengthy police investigation that followed reports by Channel 4’s Dispatches programme and the Sunday Times in 2023, in which several women accused Brand of sexual assaults.

The verdict brings to an end one of the most closely watched celebrity trials in Britain in recent years. Brand, who found fame as a stand-up comedian before moving into radio, television and film, had built a large online following in later years as a podcaster and commentator.

Outside the court, the case has renewed debate about how the justice system handles historic sexual offence allegations, and about the length of time that can pass between an alleged incident and a trial.

For the women involved, the verdicts close a process that began with the 2023 reports and continued through the police investigation and the three-week trial. For Brand, the convictions mark a dramatic fall for a performer who was once one of Britain’s best-known comedians.

The sentencing hearing on Monday will determine how long Brand spends in prison. Until then he remains in custody, and the court has made clear that a substantial sentence is expected.