British actor and comedian Russell Brand has been sentenced in London after being found guilty of rape and three counts of sexual assault. ( Reuters: Hannah McKay )
British actor and comedian Russell Brand has been jailed for 10 years and six months for rape and three counts of sexual assault.
After a four-week trial at London's Southwark Crown Court, Brand, who targeted four women between 2004 and 2009, was last week found guilty of the four charges, and acquitted of a further two counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault.
The 51-year-old had pleaded not guilty to all charges and claimed he never engaged in any non-consensual sexual activity.
When the sentence was read out Brand stood still and showed no emotion.
Brand was one of the UK's most high-profile comedians, presenters and actors during the 2000s.
A prison van carrying Brand arrives at Southwark Crown Court on the day of his sentencing. ( Reuters: Corey Rudy )
The rape conviction relates to a fan who was 21 years old when Brand raped her at his North London home in 2009.
They met after he picked her out of the crowd in the foyer following one of his live comedy shows at the Hammersmith Apollo.
During the trial, the woman told the court that what started as consensual sex, then changed suddenly into an activity she did not consent to.
She said she begged him to stop but he did not.
The three sexual assault convictions relate to one woman a bar in 2004, a woman at radio station around the same time, and a woman he was working on a project with for Channel 4 in 2009.
By law in the UK, the women who made complaints about the comedian are all granted lifelong anonymity by the court.
After deliberating for eight and a half hours, a jury found Brand guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. ( Elizabeth Cook via AP )
Before Judge Joel Bennathan handed down his sentence in London, he considered victim impact statements from some of the women.
Ms C, who was groped by Brand at a London bar, attended court in person reading out her statement from behind a screen so she could only be seen by the judge.
"That undeserved feeling of shame and what if I'd done this or done that has been carried around inside me for over 20 years," she told the court.
"For many years as his star was rising it was impossible to escape seeing him all over the media, being celebrated for his disgusting behaviour against women like it was all a joke.
She said during the trial she felt her character was "being torn apart on social media by people believing all of us women were making it up".
"There’s been accusations and death threats from manic supporters of him on social media," she said.
Crown Prosecutor Reil Karmy-Jones KC read out statements sent in by three of the other women, including the woman who was raped by Brand and referred to as Ms E.
"The consequences of what happened have affected almost every aspect of my life," Ms E wrote in her statement.
"Even now, I continue to experience anxiety, difficulties with trust, reduced confidence and the lasting effects of trauma.
The judge also listened to arguments about sentence severity from both the prosecution and defence.
Brand's barrister Ian Winter KC told the court his client had abused the influence and power that came with fame, but was a "fundamentally different person today and has been for a very long time".
He asked the judge to consider that the rape was a "short" and "momentary" failure to respect her consent.
The comedian's wife Laura was sitting in the public gallery while her husband was sentenced.
He said the case was having a devastating impact on Brand's family.
"Words are totally inadequate to convey the total devastation that [Brand's wife Laura] is experiencing," he said.
“They are wrestling with how to explain to a child, who’s just turned 10, what has just happened here."
He also told the court of Brand was a person of "positive, good character" who did a lot of charity work and had helped a number of alcoholics recover from their addictions.
