British comedian and actor Russell Brand was set to be sentenced Monday by a U.K. court and could face a lengthy prison term after being convicted of rape and sexual assault.
uncertain
Brand → set → rape
It will complete a stunning fall from grace for Brand, 51, who found fame on both sides of the Atlantic chronicling his promiscuity and battles with addiction.
asserted
who → complete → addiction
He was found guilty last week of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault.
asserted
He → find → assault
He had pleaded not guilty to all counts and denied all of the allegations.
asserted
He → plead → allegations
Brand appeared in the London court on Monday wearing a dark suit and at times making a sign of the cross, as the judge, Justice Joel Bennathan, prepared to hand down his sentence.
asserted
judge → appear → sentence
The judge had said last week that Brand faced a “significant” prison term for his crimes.
asserted
Brand → say → crimes
Under English law the maximum sentence for rape is life imprisonment, and 10 years for one count of sexual assault, according to Britain’s Sentencing Council.
uncertain
sentence → accord → Council
Brand’s female victims told the court on Monday — in person and in written statements — that they were still living with the trauma and effects in their daily lives.
asserted
they → tell → lives
“I’ve been in shock and turmoil for years,” one woman told the sentencing hearing, while another labeled him a “sexual predator” and said he appeared to show “no remorse.”
asserted
he → tell → remorse
Victims of alleged sexual offenses are granted anonymity for life, under British law.
asserted
Victims → allege → law
Since Brand’s conviction, London’s Metropolitan Police said it had provided prosecutors with investigations into two more rape allegations against him.
asserted
it → say → him
Brand’s case has renewed scrutiny on the ethics of the entertainment industry, through which Brand rose from a flamboyant British broadcaster and stand-up comedian to a star of Hollywood movies.
asserted
Brand → renew → movies
After the four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court in London, a jury of eight men and four women found Brand guilty of having anally raped a female fan at his home after she met him at one of his shows in 2009.
asserted
she → find → 2009
He was also found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman whose breasts he grabbed at a party in 2004, and another woman who said he had kissed and groped her at a London radio station in 2004 or 2005.
asserted
he → find → 2004
A third guilty verdict was delivered to Brand for the sexual assault of a woman who testified that he had pressed his face into her groin during the recording of an advertisement in 2009.
asserted
he → deliver → 2009
He was found not guilty of two other counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault.
asserted
He → find → assault
Prosecutors said the women do not know one another and that they separately went to police after a TV documentary was broadcast in Britain in 2023.
asserted
documentary → say → 2023
During the trial, prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones called Brand a ruthless, calculating, manipulative “sexual predator” who treated women as a “disposable commodity.”
asserted
who → call → commodity
Brand admitted in his testimony to being sex-obsessed as a young and famous man.
asserted
Brand → admit → man
He denied ever having non-consensual sex
asserted
He → have → sex
At the height of his fame, Brand featured in several Hollywood movies, including “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him to the Greek.”
asserted
Brand → feature → Greek
His fame stateside was cemented when he briefly wed singer Katy Perry in a lavish ceremony in India in 2010.
asserted
he → cement → 2010
The couple divorced in 2012.
asserted
couple → divorce → 2012
Brand’s current wife, Laura Gallacher, was in the courtroom on Monday and had previously testified that he was a “caring, kind and a wonderful father.”
asserted
he → testify → Monday
The couple married in 2017 and have three young children.
asserted
couple → marry → children
In recent years, Brand had moved away from mainstream media, becoming an anti-establishment commentator.
asserted
Brand → move → commentator
He briefly relocated to Florida and has built a large online following with videos that discuss U.S. politics, wellness, conspiracy theories and his newfound Christian faith.
asserted
that → relocate → politics
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
asserted
you → know → 4673
The hotline, run by the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network (RAINN), can put you in contact with your local rape crisis center.
asserted
hotline → run → center
You can also access RAINN’s online chat service at rainn.org/get-help.
asserted
You → access → rainn.org/get-help
The Aporia
