Russell Brand Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Rape

Last updated: Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, 9:50 a.m. ET. This is a developing story and may be updated.

Russell Brand is going to prison for 10 and a half years. A judge at Southwark Crown Court in London handed down the sentence Monday, four days after a jury convicted the 51-year-old comedian and actor of one rape and three sexual assaults, CBS News and NBC News reported. AP, Reuters, NPR, Variety and Deadline all had the news within minutes.

Judge Joel Bennathan called Brand a "sexual predator" before announcing the term. He said Brand showed "staggering arrogance" and believed that "fame meant you could act how you liked, when you liked," according to CBS News.

How the Russell Brand sentence breaks down

Most of the time comes from the rape conviction. Bennathan gave Brand nine years for raping a woman at his west London home in 2009, Variety reported. The sexual assault counts drew nine months, 18 months and eight months. Variety said those run concurrently, and CBS News described the total as nine years for the rape plus 18 months for the assaults.

Brand has to serve two-thirds of the sentence, roughly seven years, before he can be released on license, Variety reported. CBS News said he would spend the rest of the term under strict conditions, such as wearing an electronic tag.

Under English law, rape carries a maximum of life in prison and a single count of sexual assault carries up to 10 years, NBC News noted, citing Britain's sentencing council.

What Brand was convicted of

The jury of eight men and four women returned its verdicts last Thursday after a four-week trial. Brand was found guilty of:

• Raping a woman he met at one of his shows, at his home in 2009
• Groping a woman at a London bar or party in 2004
• Sexually assaulting a woman at a London radio station in 2004 or 2005
• Sexually assaulting a woman during the recording of an advertisement in 2009

He was acquitted of two other rape counts and one count of attempted indecent assault. In all, six women made allegations covering 1999 to 2009, CBS News said. Prosecutors told the court the women did not know each other and went to police separately after a 2023 investigation by The Sunday Times and Channel 4's "Dispatches."

Brand pleaded not guilty to everything. He told jurors he had been obsessed with sex as a young, famous man but said he never forced anyone. His defense argued the women's accounts were weakened because they went to police years later, and Brand suggested the case was a coordinated attack on him because of his online commentary.

What the women told the court

Before the sentence, statements from the women were read aloud. One read hers herself from behind a screen that hid her from everyone but the judge. "I've been in shock and turmoil for years," she said, according to CBS News, citing the BBC. Another statement called Brand "a sexual predator who has no remorse."

The woman he was convicted of raping said she struggled to sleep and eat afterward. Bennathan praised the "determination and bravery" of the women who testified, NBC News reported. Under British law, victims of sexual offenses keep their anonymity for life.

Brand's lawyer, Ian Winter KC, argued his client was "a fundamentally different person today" than he was 17 years ago.

Brand was already in custody

Brand has been behind bars since Thursday. The judge refused his request for bail to spend time with his wife and children before sentencing. "The hardship has been caused by serious criminal offending by their father," Bennathan said, according to the BBC via CBS News.

His wife, Laura Gallacher, sat in the courtroom Monday. The couple married in 2017 and have three young children, NBC News said.

More allegations under investigation

The case may not be over. London's Metropolitan Police said after the verdict that it had passed prosecutors files on two more rape allegations against Brand, NBC News reported. CBS News, citing the BBC, said one of the women was 16 at the time. No new charges had been announced as of Monday morning.

It also wasn't clear Monday whether Brand plans to appeal the conviction or the sentence. We'll update this story if his lawyers say.

Why Americans know Russell Brand

Brand built his fame in Britain as a stand-up comic and TV and radio host, then broke into Hollywood with "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and "Get Him to the Greek." He married Katy Perry in India in 2010, and they divorced in 2012.

In recent years he left mainstream TV and rebuilt his audience online with videos on U.S. politics, wellness and his Christian faith. He spent time living in Florida and appeared at conservative events in the U.S., including Turning Point USA's AmericaFest in December 2025.

London courts have handled other high-profile cases involving U.S. celebrities this year, including Chris Brown's sentencing over a nightclub attack.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, the National Sexual Assault Hotline is 1-800-656-4673, run by RAINN, and online chat is at rainn.org/get-help.