Russell Brand is facing years in jail today after being found guilty of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others to feed his ‘voracious’ and violent lust.
The comedian and actor, 51, closed his eyes as he was convicted of raping a 21-year-old fan he picked out of the crowd after one of his Hammersmith Apollo gigs in 2009.
Brand, then 33, pushed the woman face down into a pillow on his ‘enormous’ bed and removed his condom while raping her at his £2.3million Hampstead mansion, leaving her struggling to breathe.
She was left bleeding from her anus and afterwards said Brand ordered her to ‘clean up the mess you’ve made’ before switching on the TV to watch the science-fiction series Quantum Leap.
The woman tried to clear up before being ushered out by a member of staff. A driver then handed her tissues as he took her home. Fearing she had contracted HIV, she underwent tests, which came back negative.
It can today be revealed that Brand has also been accused of raping two more women, including a 16-year-old schoolgirl, with the Crown Prosecution Service seeking to bring further charges.
His wife, Laura Gallacher, who had supported him throughout the four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court, sat crying and put her head in her hands as the four guilty verdicts were returned. He was cleared of three others.
His victims told the court how Brand forced them into sexual activity, sometimes within seconds of first meeting them, while exploiting his fame in pursuit of a goal of sleeping with 5,000 women.
After eight-and-a-half hours of deliberations, jurors convicted him of the 2009 rape and sexually assaulting an MTV worker at a party in a Soho bar in 2004. But they cleared him of orally raping her in a toilet afterwards.
They also found Brand, a born-again Christian who said he wore the ‘full armour of God’ in court, guilty of sexually assaulting a Capital Radio worker after encountering her in a corridor in 2005.
At court today he was further convicted of sexually assaulting a Channel 4 employee during a forced massage in 2009. He was acquitted of two counts of rape and one charge of attempted indecent assault.
Ms Gallacher cried and held hands with an aide in the public gallery. Before the jury returned its verdicts, Brand looked at his wife and said: ‘Laura, I love you.’
He loudly replied: ‘Yes, my Lord,’ when he was remanded into custody. He will be sentenced on Monday at Southwark Crown Court after being denied the chance to say goodbye to his children and wife.
Mr Justice Bennathan said: ‘I regret the hardship caused to the children, of course,’ after being told Brand wanted bail over the weekend so he could explain the convictions to his two daughters and son, aged nine, eight and three.
But the judge said Brand ‘has considerable resources’, adding: ‘Whatever the good intentions of the family and the defendant today, I think there are substantial grounds to fear he might, in the end, not feel able to come along and face his sentence.’
He made OK gestures to his defence team and repeatedly said the words: ‘I’m good, I’m good, I’m good,’ before being escorted from the dock.
Russell Brand, 51, pictured outside Southwark Crown Court today with his wife Laura Gallacher, is facing jail after being found guilty of raping one of his fans and sexually assaulting three women
A tearful Ms Gallacher leaves court without her husband, who was remanded in custody
Brand stands while listening to Judge Mr Justice Bennathan at Southwark Crown Court, London, as he is found guilty of raping one of his fans and sexually assaulting three women
His wife Ms Gallacher cried as her husband was found guilty in the dock at Southwark Crown Court. She was comforted by friend and held the hand of an aide
A man was heard shouting ‘hold on to Jesus, Russell’ as a large Serco van left Southwark Crown Court. The man also shouted: ‘Hold on to Jesus, warrior.’ Members of the public and the press watched on as the van left the court building shortly after 4.30pm.
Brand sits with his bible as he is interviewed by police in July 2025
Brand is the latest BBC presenters to have been convicted of serious sexual offending, following Jimmy Savile, Rolf Harris and Stuart Hall.
The BBC had received more than a dozen sexual misconduct complaints concerning the Despicable Me star’s time as a Radio 2 DJ from 2005 until 2008.
Brand preyed on women he encountered while becoming one of Britain’s best-known stand-up comedians, a lauded TV and radio host, and a Hollywood movie star.
He was cleared of two rape charges and one charge of attempted indecent assault following the month-long trial.
Brand had denied all the charges against him. He argued he had been ‘destroyed’ by a ‘trial by media’ when the Times, the Sunday Times and a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary exposed him as a sexual predator in 2023.
As part of his defence, his barrister had asked his accusers why they did not ‘kick and scream’ more.
Following the verdicts, the judge warned him that he faces prison.
Mr Justice Bennathan said: ‘You’ve been convicted of a number of offences including rape.
‘The consequence of that is inevitably a significant custodial term. My current view is that I therefore have to remand you into custody.’
Ms Gallacher appeared to hunch forward when the judge said Brand would be handed a custodial sentence.
When the first guilty verdict was read out she bowed her head.
For the rest of the hearing she appeared to hold onto her chair with her body facing towards the judge.
She then left the court building soon after the verdicts were delivered. She walked quickly out of the building before getting into a waiting black Mercedes vehicle with the couple’s security team.
Brand’s barrister, Ian Winter KC, appealed for Brand to be given bail ahead of his sentencing as an ‘act of humanity’.
The barrister said one of Brand’s children had celebrated their birthday on Wednesday and they are not yet aware of his convictions.
He asked for bail for Brand to ‘put his affairs in order and in particular to say goodbye to his three young children’.
The barrister insisted Brand ‘has not been a flight risk’ and would surrender his passport and report to police to secure bail.
‘The prospect of him being able to disappear from justice is zero’, he argued.
But the judge denied the request.
Ian Winter then launched into a verbal tirade at Sunday Times journalist Rosamund Urwin as he was leaving the courtroom.
He said to her: ‘I hope you are pleased with yourself’, and when she was heard replying: ‘I’m pleased justice has been done’, Mr Winter responded: ‘Well, it wasn’t. You f***ed it.’
He then added: ‘Congratulations.’
During the trial, Mr Winter had argued in Brand’s defence that reporting of allegations against Brand by Ms Urwin and others had ‘poisoned the well’, and rendered it impossible for him to have a fair trial.
The trial judge, Mr Justice Bennathan, had also dismissed an attempt by Brand to block his trial from taking place because of negative media coverage.
Brand had got his big TV break in 2004 when he was chosen to host Big Brother’s Big Mouth, and within a couple of months of the show starting he had sexually assaulted a woman in the Nordic bar in Soho, central London.
At a party of his former MTV colleagues, Brand grabbed the woman’s breasts while stood in the middle of the bar.
She accused him of dragging her to the men’s toilets and orally raping her, but the jury found Brand not guilty on that count.
The woman told the court the ‘lad culture’ of the time meant she did not report her interaction with Brand to police, telling the court: ‘He was a celebrity and it would be his word against mine.
‘I just thought the odds weren’t in my favour.’
A worker at Capital Radio said Brand forced himself on to her during a visit to the station in 2005, pinning her to a wall while he groped and ‘sloppily’ kissed her.
She told jurors members of Brand’s entourage watched on as the attack happened, and did nothing but laugh as she looked over pleading for them to intervene.
A Russell Brand superfan told the court how she willingly had a threesome with the comedian in 2009 after one of his shows at the Hammersmith Apollo.
Overawed by Brand’s fame, the 21-year-old – who was in a relationship at the time – agreed to go to the star’s £2.3 million Hampstead townhouse a few days later for sex.
But she said the encounter started with Brand unnervingly forcing her to strip, shower, and brush her teeth before they went to bed together.
She told jurors they had ‘awkward’ consensual sex, but Brand then raped her by forcing her into non-consensual anal sex and ignored her cries of pain.
Women were a ‘disposable commodity’ to Brand, said prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones KC, who dubbed him a ‘sexual predator’.
‘They didn’t matter to him. He didn’t even need to know their names. They were just a means to an end.’
The fan who was raped at Brand’s home later bumped into him at Edinburgh Festival, and said he apologised after she said he had treated her ‘like an animal’.
In 2009, during a recording session at Channel 4, members of Brand’s entourage, Jack Bayles and Gareth Roy, forced a young female staffer to give him a massage, the court heard.
When she had reluctantly agreed, Brand thrust his head into the woman’s groin and only got up again when apparently insulted that she had commented on his ‘bony’ body.
‘I was so repulsed by the situation’, she told the court, and said she complained afterwards to her Channel 4 bosses.
But Brand was cleared by the jury of raping a woman at the Labour Party conference in 1999, after meeting them at the end of one of his cabaret shows.
He was also cleared of trying to indecently assault an MTV worker after dragging her towards a toilet at her workplace.
Following his convictions, it can now be revealed that the Crown Prosecution Service is seeking to bring charges in relation to a 16-year-old girl Brand is accused of sexually assaulting after grooming the virgin when he was aged 30.
Known by a pseudonym in the Channel 4 Dispatches programme which first exposed Brand in 2023, ‘Alice’ claimed that a BBC car took her from school to the star’s house where she was later abused.
During their three-month relationship Brand called her ‘my little dolly’ and she had to punch him to stop an oral rape, she said.
It emerged in legal argument, which the jury did not hear, that the star faces ‘outstanding charges’ in relation to the allegations.
His wife cried just before he was convicted and he told her he loved her as he entered the dock
Brand, pictured in a 2023 police interview, preyed on women he encountered while becoming one of Britain’s best-known stand-up comedians, a lauded TV and radio host, and a Hollywood movie star
Brand raped the 21-year-old fan on this bed in the bedroom of his home in Hampstead, north London
The Mail can also reveal that at least two other women came forward to accuse Brand of sexual abuse prior to the trial, but the Crown Prosecution Service limited the case to six victims.
Now prosecutors are considering whether to pursue further charges which would result in a second trial.
Detectives believe that his conviction will be a ‘watershed moment’, giving women confidence to come forward.
Brand is already facing civil claims in Britain and America.
A High Court claim from a woman seeking £100,000 in damages for alleged personal injury and sexual abuse has been placed on hold pending the conclusion of the criminal trial.
The woman, referred to only in legal papers as AGX, says she was 23 when Brand forced himself on her at his LA mansion in 2008.
She fled half-dressed in terror after he allegedly pushed her on to his bed and tried to perform sex acts against her will.
There is also a separate lawsuit in New York after Brand was accused by an extra in the 2010 romantic comedy Arthur of exposing himself to cast members before sexually assaulting her in a lavatory on set.
None of the victims in the criminal case have submitted compensation claims, but the verdict paves the way for them and other potential victims to sue Brand.
Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy said of his conviction was a ‘watershed moment.’
The officer made a statement on the steps outside the court in front of dozens of members of the press on Thursday afternoon.
He said: ‘I want to speak directly to anyone who may have been a victim of rape or serious sexual assault.
‘We understand that reporting these offences can feel incredibly difficult.
‘Many victims are understandably apprehensive about contacting police and taking that first step.
‘I hope today’s conviction demonstrates that allegations of sexual violence will be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly.
‘If you have been affected by this case, I would encourage you to speak to the police.
‘You will be listened to, supported and treated with dignity and respect.’
He added: ‘Today’s verdict is first and foremost a testament to the extraordinary courage, resilience and determination of the women who came forward and reported what happened to them. Despite intense media and public scrutiny, they relived deeply personal and traumatic experiences and placed their trust in us. Without their bravery, this outcome would not have been possible.
‘Brand used his influence, status and fame to prey on and exploit women. As his profile grew, so too did his sense of entitlement. I hope this conviction sends a clear message that no one is above the law, no matter how famous or powerful they may be.’
Laura Gallacher had been at almost every day of the four week trial at Southwark Crown Court but left without her husband this afternoon
David Roberts, Senior Crown Prosecutor in the London Rape and Serious Sexual Assault Unit, said: ‘Russell Brand was predatory and used his celebrity status to commit sexual crimes. He was a manipulator with an insatiable desire to get what he wanted regardless of whether consent was given or not.
‘As his career took off, he seized opportunities to assault the women around him. Although his tactics varied, at the centre of every assault was an abuse of power and sexual greed, with a complete disregard for the impact of his actions.
‘I would like to thank all the women in this case for their courage in coming forward and seeing this sexual abuser brought to justice.’
Russell Brand claimed to have felt the ‘presence of God’ in the courtroom, on his Christian podcast which he continued to record while standing trial for rape and sexual assault.
Brand told reporters repeatedly that he was ‘blessed’ as he arrived at Southwark Crown Court each morning to face the charges.
He and his wife prayed for those involved in the case.
He carried symbols of his Christian faith: a Bible complete with dozens of colourful tabs and a silver cross clasped tightly in his hands during the prosecution’s opening address.
But religion played little part in the trial as allegations from his past, before his Christian conversion, were explored in detail.
Out of court, Brand and his wife Laura continued to record their Sunday Service podcasts, detailing their thoughts on faith and the justice process.
In one, Brand suggested he was going into court with the ‘full armour of God’, and the couple talked at length about turning to prayer and the Bible.
He packed his defence case with a series of arguments that the victims could not have been raped because they did not run away, fight back, or scream for help while being attacked.
His barrister, Ian Winter KC, also argued to the jury that Brand could not be a rapist as he had not been accused during the #MeToo movement.
Brand’s own words from his 2007 book My Booky Wook also came back to haunt him, calling himself ‘demonically sexy’ and admitting he could be ‘uneasy company’ when in the pursuit of sex.
He wrote: ‘If I want something – whether it’s a job or a woman – I will determinedly, resolutely, remove anything that’s in the way, until I possess the object of my desire.’
Brand continued to make podcasts with his wife during the trial, telling his millions of followers on YouTube, Rumble, and X that he had felt God’s presence in court with him.
But Brand now has to face up to the reality that he is a convicted rapist, who will be imprisoned for several years and spent the rest of his life on the sex offender’s register.
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