British comedian and TV star Russell Brand was on Monday jailed for more than 10 years for a string of sex offences including rape as the judge told him he had been a “sexual predator” whose fame had protected him.
Brand, 51, showed no emotion as judge Joel Bennathan said he had acted with “staggering arrogance” and shown “contempt” for his victims who had suffered significant and lasting harm.
‘Bravery’ of the women who came forward
Paying tribute to the “bravery” of the women who came forward, the judge told Brand he had acted “how you liked and when you liked, unhindered by the rules by which decent people live”.
His wife Laura Gallacher, with whom he has three children, slumped in her seat in the public gallery of London’s Southwark Crown Court as the total sentence of 10 years and six months was announced.
Brand told his wife, who has supported him in court throughout the case, “we’ll be OK” as he was led down to the cells.
The disgraced star was convicted by a jury last week of one rape and three sexual assaults committed against four women between 2004 and 2009.
The sentence marks the final fall in a scandal-hit showbiz career that saw him embody the anything-goes culture of 2000s British TV and radio.
Brand, who has reinvented himself as an online Christian guru, held a string of prayer beads and made the sign of the cross before one of his victims personally read out her impact statement from behind a screen.
The woman said she had been left “traumatised” by the assault in a London bar in 2004.
“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 told the court. Brand listened impassively, looking straight ahead.
‘Celebrated’
A second woman, a 21-year-old fan he raped in 2009 after they met at one of his shows, told the court she had felt she simply would “not be believed” if she reported him.
“His fame, wealth and influence created a power imbalance which made me feel powerless,” she said, adding the consequences of the rape had “affected almost every aspect of my life”.
The hearing came as Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the victims’ bravery would bring about wider changes to the legal system.
Burnham pledged to be “relentless in making whatever improvements we can” to provide more support for victims, including setting up teams in every police force for handling rapes and serious sexual offences.
Facing further investigations
Brand was cleared of two other alleged rapes and one count of attempted indecent assault. But he is facing further investigations after London police said it was probing rape allegations by two more women.
From Channel 4 to MTV and an eponymous primetime show on BBC Radio 2, the wild-haired comedian worked for major British media houses in the 2000s, where his obsession with sex contributed to his notoriety.
Brand denied the charges, but he admitted to being “extremely promiscuous” and using his fame to “facilitate sexual access”.
‘Wake-up call’
Born to working-class parents in Essex, east of London in 1975, Brand dropped out of drama school before joining MTV at the age of 25.
He had his own radio show at the BBC, which last week apologised for the “culture and failings” when Brand worked there between 2006 and 2008.
Brand left the BBC after sending a well-known actor sexually explicit messages about having slept with his granddaughter.
He made a foray into Hollywood after a brief marriage in 2010 to US pop star Katy Perry, followed by a stint as a left-wing commentator and campaigner.
The court found him guilty of sexual assaults against an MTV worker, a Channel 4 worker and a Capital Radio employee, as well as raping a fan.
The organisations that propped up Brand for years are now facing questions about how he continued for so long.
British culture minister Lisa Nandy on Sunday said men in power were still exploiting women in the media industry, saying his case was a “wake-up call”.
Abide by specific rules
According to the BBC, the council states offenders jailed for four years or more for some serious violent or sexual offences will be released at the two-thirds point.
Once released, he is likely to spend the rest of his sentence on licence and will have to abide by specific rules – such as wearing a tag.
His sentence will not be included in the new early release scheme. Sex offenders – along with murderers – are exempt from the scheme.
breakdown of Russell Brand’s sentence
In total, Russell Brand has been sentenced to 10 years and six months.
He has been sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment for the one count of rape, which he will serve consecutively with the following three sentences:
- Nine months for count three – sexually assaulting a woman whose breasts he grabbed at a bar in London in 2004
- Eighteen months for count five – sexually assaulting a woman at the Choice FM studios in London in either 2004 or 2005, when he grabbed her face and kissed her before touching her breasts and bottom
- Eight months for count seven – sexual assault while working on a Channel 4 project in 2009, when he laid his head into the groin area of a woman working with him without her consent
These three sentences will all be served concurrently to one another – but consecutively to the rape sentence.
This means the total sentence is one of 10 years and six months.
By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse