LONDON — Actor and comedian Russell Brand was sentenced Monday to 10 and a half years in prison for raping a woman in 2009 and sexually assaulting three others, CBS News reported.
A jury at Southwark Crown Court in south London convicted Brand last week of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, and acquitted him of two other rape counts and an attempted indecent assault charge.
Judge Joel Bennathan called Brand a “sexual predator” who displayed “staggering arrogance” and believed that “fame meant you could act how you liked, when you liked,” according to CBS News.
Brand received nine years for the rape plus 18 months for the sexual assaults. He is expected to serve at least seven years in prison, with the rest under heavy restrictions such as electronic tagging, the report said.
The convictions involved groping a woman at a London bar in 2004, sexually assaulting a woman at a London radio station in 2004 and 2005, and raping a woman at his west London home in 2009. Six women made allegations spanning 1999 to 2009.
Victim impact statements were read in court before sentencing. Brand’s lawyer, Ian Winter KC, told the court his client was a “fundamentally different person today.”
Brand was denied bail after his conviction. The BBC has reported police are investigating additional allegations from two women, according to CBS News.
Sources: CBS News. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: MRSC at English Wikipedia / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
