Russell Brand Found Guilty of Rape and Sexual Assault, Sentencing Set for Monday
A London jury has found comedian Russell Brand guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. Variety reported the verdicts on 5 November 2026.
The same jury found him not guilty of two other rape charges and one count of attempted indecent assault. Jurors took three days to reach their decisions, after a trial that ran for about three weeks.
Brand will be sentenced on Monday, 9 November. Mr Justice Bennathan told him that a custodial sentence, meaning a term in prison, of some length will follow. The length has not yet been set. In England and Wales, rape can carry a sentence of up to 19 years, or life in some cases, depending on how serious the offence is. The maximum for sexual assault is 10 years.
The charges concerned three women. Prosecutors said Brand raped them at various locations between 1999 and 2009. One of the women alleged both oral rape and sexual assault. A separate charge accused him of attempted indecent assault at the London offices of MTV UK in 2001. Brand began his career on British television and radio, and was a familiar presenter on music channels in the early 2000s.
The Crown Prosecution Service, which brings criminal cases in England and Wales, authorised the charges in April 2025. The CPS announcement listed two counts of rape, indecent assault and two counts of sexual assault. Brand pleaded not guilty in May 2025. In February 2026 he pleaded not guilty to two further rape and sexual assault charges.
During the trial, Brand gave evidence himself. He told the court that sexual consent is "fundamental". Prosecutors described him as "ruthless", and said his accusers had "nothing to gain" apart from "some closure". Those were the prosecution's arguments, which the jury weighed alongside Brand's evidence.
The case has a longer history. In 2023, The Sunday Times and Channel 4's Dispatches published a joint investigation in which five women accused Brand of sexual assault and misconduct. Brand denied those claims at the time.
For the women who gave evidence, the next step is the sentencing hearing. For Brand, the question now is how long he will spend in prison. The judge will make that decision on Monday.
