British comedian and actor Russell Brand, 51, has been found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault by a jury at Southwark Crown Court in London.
The verdict was delivered on Thursday, 5 November 2026. The jury acquitted Brand of two further counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault.
Judge Joel Bennathan said Brand would be sentenced on Monday and faced a lengthy prison term. Brand was taken into custody following the verdict.
The charges covered incidents between 1999 and 2009. The court heard testimony from six complainants, all of whom are entitled to lifelong anonymity. None of the women knew each other, but all came forward to the police following a television documentary and press reports in 2023.
The rape for which Brand was convicted took place in 2009, involving a woman who had met him after one of his stand-up shows. He was also convicted of sexually assaulting a woman at a London bar in 2004, sexually assaulting a woman who worked at a radio station in 2004 or 2005, and sexually assaulting a woman in 2009 while they were working on a promotional project.
Brand had denied the allegations throughout the trial. He maintained that the encounters were consensual or that the allegations had been fabricated. Prosecutors described Brand as a “ruthless” sexual predator.
Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy of London’s Metropolitan Police said the conviction was “a testament to the extraordinary courage, resilience and determination of the women who came forward and reported what happened to them”.
Source: Al Jazeera
