Russell Brand sentenced to 10.5 years for rape, assaults

British comedian and actor Russell Brand was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison on Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, for one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, Reuters reported.

Brand, 51, will serve two-thirds of the sentence in custody before being released on licence, Reuters said. Two-thirds of 10 years and six months is seven years.

Judge Joel Bennathan imposed the sentence at Southwark Crown Court in London. A jury convicted Brand on Thursday, Nov. 5, after a four-week trial, of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others in offences committed between 2004 and 2009. He was acquitted of two other rape charges and one count of attempted indecent assault, as we reported on the eve of sentencing.

The judge said Brand believed “fame meant you could act how you liked, when you liked, unhindered by the rules by which decent people live,” according to Reuters reporting carried by Interaksyon. He also said: “Whatever women wear, wherever they go, indeed whatever they drink, they retain the right to say no.”

Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones told the court that Brand abused his influence and the power that came with his fame, Reuters reported. One of the women said from behind a screen that the shame had been “carried round inside me for over 20 years.” Another, whom prosecutors said Brand raped in 2009, said in a statement read to the court that she felt she would not be believed if she reported him.

Brand denied the charges. He told the trial that he had been obsessed with sex as a young man, but that consent was fundamental to him. His lawyers argued that the women went to police only years later, after a 2023 documentary aired anonymous allegations. No lawyer for Brand was quoted in the Reuters report, and CNN also reported the sentence of more than 10 years. Whether he will appeal has not been reported.

Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy of London’s Metropolitan Police said outside court that the women “have shown immense bravery, dignity and resilience,” Reuters reported. The Metropolitan Police have said they are investigating two further rape allegations against Brand, and Commissioner Mark Rowley said on Friday that he would not be surprised if many more people came forward. A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson, David Roberts, said in a statement that prosecutors will always take allegations of rape and sexual assault seriously, whoever the accused is.

Brand rose to fame on British television and radio in the early 2000s and starred in films including Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek. He was briefly married to singer Katy Perry. In recent years he moved to Florida and built a large online following. British culture minister Lisa Nandy said on Sunday that sexual abuse remains a problem in the media industry.

Brand has been in custody since the verdicts. The Metropolitan Police have said the two further investigations are continuing.

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