On Monday, a London court ordered 10-and-a-half years behind bars for Russell Brand, the comedian who was both a Hollywood name and, formerly, among Britain's best-known broadcasters, Reuters reported. The punishment follows his conviction for crimes against four women roughly 20 years ago, among them one rape and three sexual assaults.
Despite denying every charge, Brand, who was once married to US singer Katy Perry and has drifted from the mainstream in recent years, was found guilty on Thursday of offenses against four women from 2004 through 2009: the rape of one and sexual assaults on three others.
At Southwark Crown Court in London, Judge Joel Bennathan imposed a term of 10.5 years on the 51-year-old, who faced him from the dock, and explained that two-thirds of the term would be served in custody, with release on license to follow.
Addressing Brand directly, Bennathan branded him a sexual predator, one who believed "fame meant you could act how you liked, when you liked, unhindered by the rules by which decent people live."
Before dock officers led him off to the cells below, Brand mouthed "I love you" to his wife. In a statement that prosecutors read out earlier, one of his victims, whom he subjected to anal rape in 2009, said the attack's trauma was "something I carry with me every day and it often feels never-ending".
Pointing to Brand's extensive public remarks on overcoming dependence on alcohol and drugs and on the Christian faith he newly embraced, Ian Winter, his lawyer, said Brand was "a fundamentally different person today and has been for a very long time".
According to London's Metropolitan Police, Brand faces an investigation into two further alleged rapes, one of them concerning a girl who was then 16. On Friday, the police force's chief said he "wouldn't be surprised if many more came forward".
Cleared on two further counts of rape and on a charge of attempted indecent assault, Brand, an actor whose credits include "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", "Get Him to the Greek" and "Arthur", rejected any suggestion that he ever had sex without consent.
