▶ Watch Video: Russell Brand found guilty of rape and sexual assault
Disgraced actor Russell Brand was sentenced Monday to 10 and a half years in prison for raping a woman in 2009 and sexually assaulting three others.
The disgraced British television personality and Hollywood actor was convicted last week on one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, but acquitted on two other counts of rape and an attempted indecent assault charge.
A jury of eight men and four women in Southwark Crown Court, in South London, found Brand guilty of groping a woman’s breasts at a London bar in 2004, sexually assaulting a woman at a London radio station in 2004 and 2005, and raping a woman at his west London home in 2009.
The judge, Joel Bennathan, called Brand a “sexual predator” in his sentencing remarks, saying he displayed “staggering arrogance” and believed that “fame meant you could act how you liked, when you liked.”
For the rape he was sentenced to nine years, plus 18 months for the sexual assaults. Brand is expected to serve at least seven years in prison, and the rest of his sentence under heavy restrictions, such as wearing a tag.
Six women made the allegations against him, spanning from 1999 to 2009.
Before the sentencing Monday, victim impact statements from the women involved in Brand’s crimes were read out in court, three by the prosecutor and one by one of the women, who was hidden from everyone but the judge by a screen.
“I’ve been in shock and turmoil for years. I was extremely upset and traumatized. I didn’t have any respect for myself,” the woman reading her statement said, according to CBS News partner network BBC.
“I was thinking I was damaged goods – scared of giving off signals that could be taken the wrong way.”
Another statement, read out by the prosecutor, called Brand “a sexual predator who has no remorse … I just hope he is not allowed to hurt any more women.”
A third statement, from the woman who Brand was convicted of raping in 2009, said she “struggled to sleep and eat” and “cope with my emotions” after the attack.
Before the sentence was announced, Brand’s lawyer Ian Winter KC said his client was a “fundamentally different person today” compared to when the rape took place 17 years ago. He called the rape a “momentary total failure to respect [the woman’s] consent.”
Brand was denied bail after the conviction and remained in custody ahead of Monday’s sentencing, as the London judge rejected his request to be released on bail to spend time with his wife and children before Monday’s hearing.
“I regret the hardship caused to the children, of course,” judge Bennathan said of his decision Thursday, according to the BBC. “But the hardship has been caused by serious criminal offending by their father.”
Following the verdicts being handed down last week, the BBC reported that police were investigating Brand over additional rape allegations made by two women — one of whom was 16 years old at the time of the alleged incident. The head of London’s Metropolitan Police said Friday that he “wouldn’t be surprised if many more [women] came forward.”
When the guilty verdict was read out, Brand closed his eyes. When bail was denied he said, “I’m good, I’m good, I’m good,” before being led away.
His lawyers argued that the victims’ cases were weakened by the fact they had only gone to the police years after the encounters.
Brand, who had pleaded not guilty to all charges, suggested the claims were part of a coordinated attack on his character due to his prominence as an online wellness influencer and political commentator.
He admitted to leading a promiscuous life and being obsessed with sex as a young man, but claimed he never forced anyone to do anything against their will.
During the trial, a prosecutor described Brand as a ruthless and manipulative sexual predator.
