British comedian and actor Russell Brand has been found guilty of rape and three counts of sexual assault following a trial at London’s Southwark Crown Court, with a judge warning that he faces a substantial prison sentence.
The 51-year-old former television presenter, who was once among Britain’s most prominent entertainment personalities, was convicted on Thursday after a trial involving allegations dating back more than two decades.
The jury found Brand guilty of one rape charge and three sexual assaults but acquitted him of two additional rape charges and one count of attempted indecent assault.
Judge Joel Bennathan informed Brand that he would be sentenced on Monday and warned that a lengthy term of imprisonment was likely.
Following the verdict, Brand was taken into custody pending a bail application scheduled for 1500 GMT.
Throughout the proceedings, Brand denied wrongdoing, maintaining that the encounters described by the complainants had either been consensual or that the allegations had been distorted or misrepresented.
Prosecutors presented a sharply different account, describing the entertainer as a ruthless sexual predator who exploited women during his rise to fame.
The offences were alleged to have occurred between 1999 and 2009, a period during which Brand progressed from performing stand-up comedy in small venues to becoming a major television personality and Hollywood actor.
Brand later appeared in films including Get Him to the Greek and Arthur and was previously married to American pop singer Katy Perry.
The court heard evidence from six women, whose identities remain protected by lifelong anonymity under British law.
Their testimony included emotional accounts of the alleged incidents, with prosecutors arguing that the allegations revealed a pattern of sexual misconduct spanning several years.
According to evidence presented during the trial, the complainants did not know one another and approached police following a television documentary and newspaper investigations published in 2023.
Those investigations featured allegations from other women and prompted renewed scrutiny of Brand’s conduct during his years in the entertainment industry.
The verdict represents a major legal development for the former broadcaster, whose career had already come under intense public examination following the emergence of the allegations.
Brand now awaits sentencing on Monday, when the court will determine the punishment for the offences of which he has been convicted.