Russell Brand sentenced to 10.5 years in prison: details of the sentence and what the verdict left out

The sentence and its structure

On November 9, Southwark Crown Court in London sentenced 51-year-old Russell Brand to 10 years and 6 months in prison for rape and three counts of sexual assault against four women. This was reported by Deutsche Welle, BBC and euronews; Russian outlets, citing The Guardian and Reuters, give the same figures. The jury's verdict was delivered on November 5 after a trial lasting roughly four weeks: a jury of four women and eight men unanimously found Brand guilty, rejecting his claim that all the encounters were consensual.

How the total term was built

According to the BBC, the structure of the sentence is as follows: nine years for the rape of a 21-year-old fan at his London home in 2009, 18 months for the assault on a Choice FM studio employee in 2004–2005, nine months for an incident in a London bar in 2004, and eight months for an incident during the filming of a Channel 4 project in 2009. The three sexual assault terms run concurrently and add only 18 months to the nine years for rape. Under British rules, a person convicted of serious sexual offences is released on licence after two-thirds of the term — in Brand's case, about seven years; the days already spent in prison since Thursday's verdict count toward it. Life.ru, citing Reuters describes the same sentencing scheme. In addition, according to euronews, Brand falls under indefinite registration requirements under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

What the court said and what the verdict left out

Judge Joel Bennathan called Brand a 'sexual predator', noting his 'striking arrogance' and his 'disregard for any woman's right to say no'. According to the judge, Brand's star status protected him until 2023, when journalists from the Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 published a series of exposés, after which women began coming to the police; testimony also showed that Brand's entourage at the height of his fame 'indulged' his behaviour. At the same time, the jury acquitted Brand on two other rape charges and one count of attempted indecent assault. Meanwhile, as reported by Gazeta.Ru, citing the Metropolitan Police, after the verdict Brand remains under investigation over two further rape complaints — meaning the legal story does not end with this sentence.

Reactions in and around the courtroom

The victims gave statements: one of the women, who spoke from behind a screen, described her 'shock and confusion' and feeling like 'damaged goods' for many years; another called Brand 'a sexual predator without remorse'. Prime Minister Andy Burnham, according to Deutsche Welle, praised the women's courage and promised that the government would ensure sexual violence response teams exist in every police station. Brand himself did not admit guilt; before being taken to his cell, he sent words to his wife Laura: 'we will get through this'. Outside the court, his father Ron Brand, according to Anadolu, citing Sky News, called his own son a victim and said that after what he had seen he 'does not believe in the justice system'.