Katy Perry’s ex-husband Russell Brand has been found guilty of rape and three counts of sexual assault in a London courtroom, with the 51-year-old comedian now facing prison time following a high-profile trial involving allegations from multiple women. The convictions followed a nearly four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court involving allegations from six women.
Brand was convicted of four offenses involving four women between 2004 and 2009. Jurors also acquitted him of two additional rape charges and one count of attempted indecent assault. He had pleaded not guilty to all seven charges.
Following the verdict, Judge Joel Bennathan ordered Brand into custody and denied him bail ahead of sentencing on Monday, November 9.
“Obviously a custodial sentence of some length will result,” the judge told the court.
The rape conviction involved a woman who met Brand after attending one of his comedy performances at London’s Hammersmith Apollo in 2009. She testified that she went to his home expecting consensual sexual activity but was raped during their encounter.
The woman also described a later exchange in which Brand allegedly told her he wanted to “push [her] further.” She maintained throughout her testimony that she had not consented to what happened. Brand denied the accusation, but jurors ultimately found him guilty.
The other three convictions involved separate encounters. Jurors determined that Brand sexually assaulted a woman at a London bar in 2004, another woman at a radio station around 2005, and a woman working on a Channel 4 production in 2009.
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The Russell Brand verdict also included acquittals involving allegations dating back to 1999. One woman, who accused him of raping her following an event in Bournemouth, described his behavior during the encounter as “lizard-like.” The jury found Brand not guilty of that rape charge.
He was also acquitted of attempting to indecently assault a woman at MTV’s London offices in 2001 and of a separate rape allegation involving the woman he sexually assaulted at a bar in 2004.
The criminal case developed after a September 2023 investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches, The Times, and The Sunday Times brought allegations of sexual misconduct against Brand into public view.
Following those reports, London’s Metropolitan Police began investigating complaints from women who alleged that Brand had assaulted them during his years as a prominent television personality, radio host, and comedian.
In April 2025, prosecutors announced five criminal charges involving four women and alleged offenses between 1999 and 2005. The allegations included rape, indecent assault, and sexual assault.
The investigation continued, and prosecutors authorized two additional charges in December 2025 involving separate incidents reported by two more women in 2009. Brand denied those charges as well.
By the time the Russell Brand verdict was delivered, investigators had interviewed more than 100 witnesses, collected over 400 witness statements, and reviewed more than 1,400 documents. Detectives also examined historical photographs, property layouts, and recordings connected to Brand’s career to reconstruct events that occurred years earlier.
During the trial, prosecutors argued that Brand exploited his celebrity status and used his public persona to gain access to women. His defense challenged the reliability of allegations reported years after the incidents and maintained that his sexual encounters had been consensual.
Brand acknowledged his history of promiscuity while denying that he had forced anyone into sexual activity.
His wife, Laura Brand, also testified in his defense, describing him as a wonderful father and an “amazing, attentive husband.” She attended court throughout the proceedings.
Brand rose to international fame through British television, stand-up comedy, and Hollywood films including Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek. He was previously married to Perry before marrying Laura in 2017.
In recent years, Brand shifted toward online commentary, political discussions, and religious content while living in the United States.
After the Russell Brand verdict, Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy stated that Brand used his “influence, status and fame to exploit and sexually offend against women.”
Brand remains in custody pending his November 9 sentencing, when the court will determine the prison term for his four convictions.
