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NEED TO KNOW
- Russell Brand, 51, has been found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault
- The British comedian’s trial relating to offences between 1999 and 2009 lasted three and a half weeks in a London court
- He will be sentenced on Monday, November 9
Content Warning: This story contains references to and descriptions of domestic violence and assault
After a three-and-a-half-week trial and eight and a half hours of deliberation, the jury for Russell Brand’s rape and sexual assault trial delivered a split verdict on Thursday, November 5, finding him guilty on four of the seven counts, reports the BBC.
The 51-year-old British comedian had been on trial in London’s Southwark Crown Court for three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of attempted indecent assault relating to six women in the UK between 1999 and 2009. The court heard him described as a “ruthless rapist and manipulative sex offender”, according to the BBC.
The jury found him guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, but acquitted on the two other rape counts and one of attempted indecent assault. He had denied all offences.
The rape count related to a young fan he met at his stand-up show at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2009. Brand invited the woman, who was more than a decade younger than him, to his dressing room where she performed oral sex on him and had a threesome with another fan. A few days later, Brand sent a chauffeur to bring the woman to his London home where they had consensual vaginal sex, reports BBC.
While in bed, Brand flipped her over and anally raped her so violently that she says “couldn’t speak or breathe”, reports The Hollywood Reporter. When she was finally able to speak, she says she told him repeatedly to stop. When Brand finished a few minutes later, she says he looked “horrified”, and told her: “You need to clear up the mess you made”.
One of the sexual assaults he was found guilty of was grabbing a victim’s breasts at a bar in Soho in 2004. The second guilty finding related to an incident in 2004 or 2005 at Capital Radio where he pushed a victim against a wall, kissing her and grabbing her body “aggressively”. The third guilty finding was when he put his head and nose in the “vaginal area” of a female colleague in 2009.
Brand had been free on bail, but after the verdict, was taken into custody. Judge Joel Bennathan said he faces a “significant” prison term when he’s sentenced on Monday, November 9.
Brand’s wife, Laura, with whom he has three children, told the court during the trial that he is a “caring and kind, wonderful father” and that she feels “very seen by him”. The Guardian reports that, shortly before the jury delivered its verdicts, Brand looked at Laura and said, “Laura, I love you.”
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