The Verdict in Russell Brands Rape and Sexual Assault Trial: What to Know
Russell Brand, the firebrand YouTuber, comedian and actor, was found guilty in London on Thursday of rape and sexual assault.The jury reached its verdict after a three-week trial in which prosecutors accused Mr.Brand, 51, of seven criminal counts.
He was convicted of four and found not guilty of three.The judge at the trial said Mr.Brand would be sentenced to a “significant” prison term at a hearing on Monday.Here’s what to know about the verdict.What were the charges?Prosecutors had originally accused Mr.
Brand of three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault.A judge during the trial amended the indecent assault charge to attempted indecent assault, citing insufficient evidence.What was the verdict?On Thursday, the jury unanimously delivered the following verdict:Guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault.Not guilty of two other counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault.The charges, which involved six women, dated from 1999 to 2009, a period when Mr.
Brand became a star in Britain as a stand-up comedian and television and radio host.Mr.
Brand pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.The jury heard testimony from the women in the trial, and their police interviews were played to the court.One woman said that Mr.Brand raped her in rented accommodations during a 1999 British political party conference.
A jury found him not guilty.A second woman said that Mr.Brand tried to pull her into a bathroom in 2001 after meeting him in the offices of a TV company, prompting the attempted indecent assault charge.
A jury found him not guilty.A third woman met Mr.Brand at a bar in 2004, where she said that he sexually assaulted her, groping her breasts, and orally raped her in a nearby bathroom.
A jury found him guilty of sexual assault but not guilty of rape.A fourth woman accused Mr.Brand of sexually assaulting her at a radio station in 2004 or 2005, kissing and groping her while people wa...