The key facts
- The jury began deliberating its verdict at Southwark Crown Court; the verdict must be unanimous
- Brand faces three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of attempted indecent assault; he has pleaded not guilty
- The charges relate to six women and cover the period from 1999 to 2009
The jury has begun deliberating its verdict
The jury at Southwark Crown Court in London on Tuesday, 3 November, began deliberating its verdict in the case of 51-year-old Russell Brand, BBC News reports. The trial lasted three weeks: the comedian faces three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of attempted indecent assault. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, arguing that although he was once 'obsessed' with sex, all encounters were consensual. Judge Joel Bennathan reminded the jury of eight men and four women that it may return only a unanimous verdict. According to AFP, if convicted, Brand faces up to life imprisonment.
The prosecution and defence versions
The charges relate to six women and span the period from 1999 to 2009. Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones described Brand as a man who saw women as 'disposable', and, according to AFP, as a 'ruthless, calculating and manipulative' sexual predator. She said that the women, who did not know one another, described a change in his behaviour 'from charming to frightening and repulsive', and that they had been 'haunted' by what they experienced for years. Defence lawyer Ian Winter urged the jury to separate Brand's manner of treating women from the criminal charges, arguing that 'it is not criminal to treat women badly before, during or after sex' if there is consent, and that the charges brought 'many, many years' later had been 'thoroughly contaminated' by the 2023 documentary film. Brand himself acknowledged in court that he had used his fame to 'facilitate sexual access', calling this wrong, but denied any criminality.
Specific episodes and context
One of the women says Brand raped her after meeting him at a Labour Party conference in Bournemouth in 1999; another says that in 2004, in a London bar, he grabbed her breast and dragged her into a toilet, where he committed oral rape; a third speaks of a consensual meeting in a dressing room at the Hammersmith Apollo theatre in 2009, after which he allegedly raped her at his home in Hampstead. Brand has rejected all of these claims. His wife Laura spoke in his defence, calling him 'a caring, kind and wonderful father'. The sexual assault allegations first emerged in 2023 in a Channel 4 documentary and an investigation by The Times and The Sunday Times; they concerned other women, and Brand rejected them. The prosecutor, according to AFP, said it was the 2023 film that prompted the complainants to come forward, making them realise they were 'not alone'. The jury's verdict has not yet been announced.
Image source, Reuters 