A jury at Southwark Crown Court in London convicted Russell Brand on November 5 of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. He was remanded into custody after the verdict, changing his position from a defendant who denied the allegations to a convicted offender awaiting sentence.

What the jury decided

The trial concerned seven alleged offences involving six women between 1999 and 2009. The four convictions cover incidents reported at a Soho bar, a London radio station and a Channel 4 project; accounts differ on the location of the rape conviction.

For the bar incident, the guilty verdict concerned a sexual assault at a birthday party in 2004; Brand was accused of grabbing a woman’s breasts. Another conviction concerned a woman at a London radio station in 2004 or 2005. The third sexual-assault conviction involved a woman working on a Channel 4 project, where Brand was accused of pressing his face into her groin during an advertisement recording.

Descriptions of the rape conviction do not fully match. The Associated Press said it involved a fan Brand met backstage at a comedy show. Australian outlet PerthNow placed the incident at Brand’s Hampstead home in 2009, while German newspaper Saarbrücker Zeitung described a 21-year-old fan and an incident after a London theatre performance.

Acquittals and Brand’s response

Brand was acquitted of two rape counts. Accounts differ on the other acquittal or acquittals: the Associated Press and Portuguese outlet SAPO list an attempted indecent-assault count, while Saarbrücker Zeitung describes two alleged sexual assaults. Those descriptions leave the precise record of the remaining acquittals unclear.

Brand denied the allegations. Testifying at trial, he said he had once been promiscuous and obsessed with sex as a young man, but had never forced anyone to do anything against their will. His wife, Laura Gallacher, testified for the defence as a character witness.

The allegations became public in September 2023, following reporting by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4, according to SAPO. The trial brought those allegations to a jury; the verdict now establishes criminal convictions on four counts, while the acquittals remain part of the case’s outcome.

What happens next

The judge rejected bail and remanded Brand into custody. The Associated Press said the judge cited the possibility that Brand might flee. Sentencing is scheduled for November 9, 2026; the sentence and its length have not yet been determined.

The verdict is separate from an ongoing Metropolitan Police investigation into rape allegations made by two women. Police said Brand had previously been interviewed under caution and files concerning both complainants had been sent to the Crown Prosecution Service. The available information does not report any further charge in that investigation.