Famous stand-up comedian sentenced for rape: more than 10 years in prison

Russell Brand was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison on Monday after a judge praised the bravery of his victims and accused him of "not breaking the rules by which decent people live.".

When Judge Justice Bennathan sentenced Brand for raping one woman and sexually abusing three others, he claimed he had given the court “a whole series of lies.” The disgraced comedian demonstrated “a negligent, arrogant disregard for any woman’s right to say no,” the judge said.

- About 20 years ago, Russell Brand, you became famous. You were smart and, according to many people, cheerful and charismatic. You've also become a sexual maniac. Whatever women wear, wherever they go, whatever they drink, they reserve the right to say no and demand justice in criminal courts when sexual predators like you, Mr. Brand, act without their consent.

Brandu's sentence, the culmination of a four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court, came after four women described the impact of his crimes on their lives in victim statements. The woman who was raped by Brand said the attack had long-term consequences. “Even now, I feel like I’m living with the trauma of what happened,” she said. “It’s something I carry with me every day and it often feels like it’s never going to end.”.

Brand, 51, appeared insensitive while in prison, but told his wife Laura: "We're going to be fine" as court officials took him away. His wife replied, "I love you," before leaving the courtroom in tears.

On Thursday, the disgraced comedian was found guilty of raping a 21-year-old fan and sexually assaulting three women in separate incidents between 2004 and 2009. He was acquitted of two more charges of rape and one of attempted indecent conduct.

After the conviction, the Metropolitan Police said Brand was under investigation for two more rape charges.

On Monday, a judge praised the courage of the women involved in the case. He also criticised Brand's "staggering arrogance" before sentenced him to 10 and a half years in prison.

In his sentencing speech, which was broadcast live, Bennathan told Brenda: I am taking a pause to pay tribute to the determination and courage of all the women whose testimony I have given. I'm not toughening your punishment because of this, but all of these women have had to face being told they lied, or distorted the truth, or agreed to your sexual demands: it was all because of you, at your direction.

The judge said Brand felt “right” to grab his first victim, an MTV employee, at a birthday party in Soho, London, in 2004. “In court, you said you never touched a woman sexually without her consent, including that woman.” “In light of the jury’s verdict, this was one of a series of false statements,” the judge said.

The woman told the court she was "extremely upset and traumatised" and felt "vulnerable" after the attack.

“Many times I felt uncomfortable seeing him walking around thinking he could get away with it,” she said in a statement.

Brand's second victim told the court he laughed after clutching her breasts and kissing casually while she worked for radio station Choice FM in 2005. She said he defeated her in a "brutal" and "rabid" attack that took place in front of his entourage.

The judge said: 'Without a doubt, your comrades thought it was an outrageous male behaviour that only you could get away with. It was outrageous and maybe boyish, but it was also a sexual offense, and it turned out you didn't get away with it.

The judge said Brand was happy to take advantage of the fact that his youngest victim was a fan. The woman told the court she felt "disturbed, humiliated and depressed" after Brand in a twisted form raped her without a condom at his London mansion. She was 21 when Brand singled her out of the crowd after one of his performances at Hammersmith Apollo in early 2009.

“I struggled to eat and sleep and found it difficult to cope with my emotions. The consequences were so severe that I had to leave my job for a while and went back to my parents for a while because I didn’t feel safe.

The judge said Brand's latest crime demonstrated his "staggering arrogance" and how his entourage condoned his "terrible behaviour.".

Brand’s lawyer, Ian Winter, said the former TV presenter had become “a fundamentally different person today” and was not “in general terms a rapist.”.