LONDON — British comedian and actor Russell Brand was convicted Thursday of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault following a trial at Southwark Crown Court in London.
The jury acquitted the 51-year-old of two other rape charges and one count of attempted indecent assault. Judge Joel Bennathan said Brand would receive a prison sentence.
The rape conviction involved a young fan Brand met after one of his shows at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2009.
He was also convicted of sexually assaulting an MTV worker at a party in a Soho bar in 2004, a Capital Radio employee in a corridor in 2005 and a Channel 4 worker during a forced massage in 2009.
Brand had faced seven charges involving six women, with allegations spanning 1999 to 2009. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and maintained during the trial that his sexual encounters had been consensual. Jurors heard more than three weeks of evidence before beginning their deliberations Tuesday.
The jury found him not guilty of raping a woman he met at a cabaret show during the 1999 Labour Party conference in Bournemouth. It also acquitted him of attempting to indecently assault an MTV worker in 2001 and orally raping the woman he was convicted of groping at the Soho bar.
Brand, previously one of Britain’s most prominent broadcasters, appeared in films including “Get Him to the Greek” and “Arthur.”
He is scheduled to be sentenced Monday.
Source: Antigua News Room Comedian Russell Brand found guilty of rape and three sexual assaults.