LONDON — British comedian and actor Russell Brand, 51, was convicted on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, at Southwark Crown Court in London of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, offences committed near the height of his fame in the mid-2000s while he worked for Channel 4 and the BBC.

The jury acquitted Brand of two other rape charges and one count of attempted indecent assault. He was denied bail and remanded in custody. He will be sentenced on Monday.

Six women were complainants in the case. The allegations first came to light in a 2023 documentary, which prompted the women to go to police and make formal complaints about incidents said to have taken place during the period when Brand was a prominent television and radio presenter.

Brand denied the charges throughout the proceedings and denied ever having non-consensual sex. His defence maintained that the encounters were consensual, a position the jury rejected in part with Thursday’s guilty verdicts.

Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy called Brand “a danger to women,” according to Page Six and Sky News, in comments following the verdicts.

Page Six and Sky News also report that Brand now faces two additional rape accusations under investigation by the Metropolitan Police, including one from a 16-year-old. Those accusations have not resulted in charges and remain under investigation, and should be reported as accusations only.

Brand separately faces a lawsuit in the United States alleging a 2010 assault on the set of the film “Arthur.” That civil case is separate from the criminal proceedings in London.

The convictions bring to a close a trial that drew wide attention to the entertainment industry, with the verdicts delivered at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday. Brand will remain in custody until he is sentenced on Monday.

Sources: Reuters and Page Six

Russell Brand — via Wikimedia Commons