Russell Brand was sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison on Monday after a London court convicted him of rape and three sexual assaults, according to cbc.ca.
Judge Joel Bennathan sentenced Brand at Southwark Crown Court, cbc.ca reported. The judge described the comedian as a predator who believed fame meant he could act without consequence.
Brand received nine years for the 2009 rape and 35 months for three sexual assaults, with those terms running concurrently, cbc.ca reported. He must serve two-thirds of the sentence in custody before release on license under strict conditions, according to cbc.ca.
Page Six reported that Brand will serve 10 years and six months total, with an additional 18 months specifically for his sexual assault convictions alongside the rape term. Judge Bennathan noted that the trial dealt with allegations spanning from 1999 to 2009, cbc.ca reported.
Judge Bennathan pointed to evidence from Brand’s wife, Laura Gallacher, when assessing whether the comedian posed a future danger to women, Page Six reported. The judge stated that given the age of the offenses and the evidence provided by his wife, there was no sound evidential basis to conclude Brand remained a risk, according to Page Six.
Gallacher described their marriage as honest despite her husband’s past, Page Six reported. The couple married in 2017 and share three children, according to Page Six and cbc.ca.
Victims detailed the lasting trauma of the attacks in statements read by prosecutors at Southwark Crown Court, cbc.ca and The Guardian reported. One woman said she was sexually assaulted at a Soho birthday party in 2004 when Brand grabbed her breasts, according to The Guardian.
Another victim stated that when she reported being assaulted during a 2009 Channel 4 shoot where Brand pushed his face into her groin, senior management brushed it under the carpet, Variety reported. The judge noted that members of Brand’s entourage indulged his behavior, according to cbc.ca and Variety.
London’s Metropolitan Police stated that Brand remains under investigation for two other alleged rapes, including one involving a then-16-year-old girl, cbc.ca reported. Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy paid tribute to the victims outside court, according to cbc.ca.
The politician noted he had no idea of the full extent of Brand’s actions when he sent a 2014 tweet praising the comedian, according to cbc.ca.
The convicted incidents took place between 1999 and 2009, according to cbc.ca.
Judge Bennathan ruled that Brand must serve two-thirds of his 10-year-and-six-month sentence in custody before facing release on license, as reported by cbc.ca and Page Six.
London’s Metropolitan Police are investigating Brand for two additional alleged rapes, one involving a victim who was 16 at the time, according to cbc.ca.
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