A comedian has been sentenced to 10-and-a-half years in prison for rape and sexual assault.
He was sentenced on Monday after the court found him guilty of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others around two decades ago.
He had been found guilty of the offences he committed between 2004 and 2009 on Thursday.
Russell Brand, a high-profile broadcaster and Hollywood star, was tried at the Southwark Crown Court, London, United Kingdom, by Judge Joel Bennathan. He will serve two-thirds of the sentence in jail before being released on licence.
“Whatever women wear, wherever they go, indeed whatever they drink, they retain the right to say no and to demand justice from the criminal courts when sexual predators like you, Russell Brand, act without their consent,” Bennathan said.
The 51-year-old former husband of US pop singer Katy Perry mouthed “I love you” to his wife before he was led down to the cells.
Reuters reports the London Metropolitan Police as saying Brand was under investigation for two other alleged rapes, one involving a then-16-year-old girl, with the force’s chief Mark Rowley said on Friday that he “wouldn’t be surprised if many more came forward”.
Brand, who rose to fame as a television presenter known for his loquacious manner and flamboyant appearance and starred in films such as “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”, “Get Him to the Greek” and “Arthur”, had denied ever having non-consensual sex.
But, after a four-week trial, he was found guilty of one count of rape and three sexual assaults. He was acquitted of two other rape charges and an attempted indecent assault.
