Russell Brand arrived at Southwark Crown Court on Monday to face sentencing after a jury convicted him of rape and multiple sexual assaults.
The 51-year-old sat in the dock wearing a grey suit and open-necked white shirt, occasionally turning toward his wife Laura Gallacher in the public gallery. Victims delivered impact statements in person, describing him as a sexual predator who caused lasting harm, The Irish Times reported.
One woman, whom Brand sexually assaulted in 2004 before an alleged oral rape for which he was acquitted of rape but convicted of sexual assault, spoke from behind a screen. She told the court she carried an undeserved feeling of shame for over 20 years.
“When it happened, I was in complete shock and turmoil for weeks,” she said, according to The Irish Times.
Another woman assaulted in 2004 or 2005 stated that Brand had no remorse. A third victim, whom Brand anally raped in 2009 after meeting her following a stand-up show at the Hammersmith Apollo, testified that his public profile made it difficult to escape reminders of the attack, The Irish Times reported.
A four-week trial detailed how Brand preyed on women while rising to prominence as a TV and radio host, comedian, and Hollywood actor. Jurors also convicted him of groping a woman at a Soho bar in 2004, pouncing on a third woman at Capital Radio studios in 2005, and forcing a Channel 4 worker to give him a massage in 2009, according to The Irish Times.
Met Commissioner Mark Rowley revealed that the Metropolitan Police are investigating Brand over two further rape allegations, with officers braced for more potential victims to come forward, The Irish Times reported. Prime Minister Andy Burnham called the crimes horrifying.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy warned that media organizations have not changed enough to stop prominent figures from preying on women.
A jury at Southwark Crown Court convicted Brand of raping a 21-year-old fan in 2009 and sexually assaulting three female television and radio workers between 2004 and 2009, The Irish Times reported.
Barrister Ian Winter argued that Brand could not be a rapist because his accusers did not scream, fight back, or run away during the attacks, according to The Irish Times. Winter also claimed media reporting had tainted the trial evidence.
Ian Winter self-referred himself to the Bar Standards Board after being seen verbally abusing Sunday Times journalist Rosamund Urwin in a courthouse corridor following the verdicts, The Irish Times reported.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that Brand remains under active investigation regarding two additional rape allegations, with officials expecting further complainants to step forward, according to The Irish Times.
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