Russell Brand, the raunchy, irreverent British comedian who became a celebrity darling in the early 2000s, has been sentenced to over 10 years in prison after being found guilty on one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault.
"The total sentence is one of ten years, six months," said Judge Justice Bennathan on handing down the sentence at Southwark Crown Court in London on Monday.
Brand, 51, was a career chameleon who went from stand-up comic and MTV host to a political analyst esteemed by Britain's left, only to become a conspiracy theorist and Christian convert beloved by the U.S. right.
But critics of Brand said there was always a clear thread of misogyny running through his comedy routines, and that his mistreatment of women had been an open secret for decades.
Over the past four weeks, six women testified against the comedian in court in London, in a trial that garnered massive media attention.
A jury found Brand guilty last week on four of the seven counts against him. He was found guilty of raping a woman he'd met at one of his shows in 2009 and of sexually assaulting three women – at a bar, a radio station and a TV studio – between 2004 and 2009.
Brand denies all charges and said he never had non-consensual sex.
Before the judge handed down the sentence, four of the women who brought the case against Brand gave victim impact statements to the court. Three of the statements were read out by the prosecution, while one woman appeared in court behind a curtain to read her own.
None of the women have been publicly named and the trial was not televised.
Victim impact statements read
The prosecution read out an impact statement from the one complainant, who Brand was found guilty of anally raping at his home in 2009. In her statement she said: "It's something I carry with me every day and it often feels never-ending."
"I doubt my ability to make good decisions and no longer trust my instinct in the way I did," her statement said, adding that because of Brand's fame she didn't think she'd be believed if she reported him.
Another complainant, who Brand was found guilty of sexually assaulting at a bar in 2004 when he grabbed her breasts, said the confusion of what she "should" or "could" do had stayed with her for over 20 years.
The complainant, who spoke in person from behind a curtain in the courtroom, said she felt "physically sick" seeing Brand in the press afterwards as his fame rose.
Another of Brand's victims, who he was found guilty of sexually assaulting in 2005, said the assault had "a lasting impact on her life" and that over the years "hearing his voice on television or seeing his image has made me jump."
A fourth woman, who Brand was found guilty of sexually assaulting when they worked together at a TV studio, said she was badly affected and afterwards felt her working environment was unsafe.
Brand holds rosary and prays
British media who were in the court for the sentencing said Brand, who had spent the weekend in prison, was in the suit he was convicted in on Thursday and sat holding a set of white rosary beads as the victim statements were read. Brand's wife Laura, who had supported him throughout the case, was in court, as was his father.
After the victim statements, the defense and prosecution teams had the opportunity to make their last statements.
The prosecution called for a long sentence, saying there were aggravating circumstances in the anal rape case, such as Brand removing a condom. The defence meanwhile said Brand was "a fundamentally different person" from who he was at the time of the crimes.
After considering the victim impact statements and those by the defence and prosecution, the judge handed down the sentence live on camera.
In his remarks, he said Brand had become "a sexual predator" and paused "to pay tribute to the determination and bravery" of the women who'd come forward.
He then ordered Brand to be taken down to the cells.
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