The lead detective in the case against Russell Brand has urged other potential victims of the comedian to come forward after it emerged he is under investigation for two further rape allegations and faces a civil claim in the UK.
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he → urge → UK
Det Supt Andy Furphy, the Metropolitan police’s strategic lead in the investigation, described Brand, 51, as “a predator” whose behaviour escalated as his fame grew.
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fame → describe → predator
On Thursday, Brand was found guilty of raping a fan and sexually assaulting three women over five years at the height of his career.
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Brand → find → career
He was cleared of two further counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault after a four-week trial at Southwark crown court.
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He → clear → court
It can now be revealed that Brand is under investigation for two further rape allegations and that the Met has submitted files to the Crown Prosecution Service.
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Met → reveal → Service
Brand has also been accused of sexually assaulting a woman at his mansion in Los Angeles in 2008, in a civil claim filed at the high court in London.
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Brand → accuse → London
The Met’s investigation into Brand, named Operation Actinolite, involved tracing and speaking to more than 100 witnesses, reviewing more than 1,400 documents and taking more than 340 statements, including from Brand’s former employers, colleagues and associates.
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investigation → name → employers
Speaking after Brand’s conviction, Furphy said the police investigation was continuing and he believed there could be more victims.
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he → speak → conviction
“If you get a conviction then it tends to encourage other people to come forward because they see the courage and the bravery and the resilience that these women have had to go through this criminal justice process, and they feel their own strength as a result of that.
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they → get → that
They want to come forward and have their story told,” he told the Guardian.
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he → want → Guardian
“So, yes, there may be more victims of Russell Brand out there, but for now our focus remains on the women that came forward.”
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that → remain → women
The Met said Brand had been interviewed under caution in connection with two further rape allegations made by two women.
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Brand → say → women
“Files have been submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service in relation to both complainants.
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Files → submit → complainants
Detectives remain in close contact with prosecutors as inquiries continue and further investigative work is carried out,” a spokesperson said.
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spokesperson → remain → prosecutors
Pre-trial legal documents suggested there were outstanding charges against Brand in relation to a woman who made allegations about him in a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary in 2023.
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who → suggest → 2023
She accused Brand of grooming her and sending a BBC car to bring her to him from the gates of her school when she was a 16-year-old pupil.
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she → accuse → school
Furphy refused to comment on any outstanding inquiries but appealed for women to come forward if they had anything to report.
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they → refuse → anything
“We have a live investigation.
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We → have → investigation
Our work’s not done,” Furphy said.
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Furphy → do → ?
“What I would say, is if you’ve been affected by the case, if Russell Brand has committed a crime against you, rape or serious sexual violence or a sex assault, whatever it might be, and you haven’t spoken to police yet, then come forward.
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you → say → police
We’ve got specially trained staff, specially trained officers.
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We → get → staff
We’ll support you and listen to you.”
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We → support → you
It is understood a couple of other women made allegations against Brand during the Met’s investigation but they did not result in charges.
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they → understand → charges
Furphy said Brand had abused his celebrity status to assault women who then feared they would not be believed.
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they → say → women
“Russell Brand is a predator,” Furphy said.
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Furphy → say → ?
“He preys on women and commits serious sexual offences against them.
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He → prey → them
He’s in a position of power, a celebrity, he’s wealthy.
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he → ’ → power
“If you look at the offending from the first date up until when the final offences were committed, you can see an escalation in his behaviour.
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you → look → behaviour
The more famous he gets, the more emboldened he gets, less likely to be challenged, less likely to be held accountable.
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he → get → ?
He’s been held accountable now.”
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He → hold → ?
He praised the “really courageous, brave and resilient women” who gave evidence against him while facing the intense scrutiny of Brand’s barrister, Ian Winter KC.
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who → praise → barrister
He described the cross-examination as “deeply uncomfortable”.
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He → describe → examination
“Rape and serious sexual offences is a deeply personal thing, people are recounting some of the worst things that have ever happened to them,” he said.
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he → recount → them
“We can perceive that line of questioning may come, but I’ve got to be honest with you, it was deeply uncomfortable at times.”
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it → perceive → times
Brand gave interviews to Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly and Piers Morgan before the trial and continued podcasting throughout, which the detective said had taken a toll on the women.
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detective → give → women
“It’d be fair to say that what he did to them has had a very long-lasting effect on them, in the way they trust people … it’s been devastating to many of them,” Furphy said.
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Furphy → say → them
“Then a challenging aspect of this [case] was the constant public commentary around it, and some of that was coming from him.
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some → challenge → him
And as you can imagine in a case like this, as an investigation team, we’ve got to review everything – DVDs, books, podcasts, stuff that’s appearing online.
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that → imagine → everything
“So, for me, he drove right up to the line of what was acceptable in a live criminal trial and stopped just short.
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what → drive → trial
But that doesn’t mean we weren’t prepared to take action if it started to cross over that line, and the women who’ve put their trust in us knew that.”
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who → mean → that
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
