Brand a ‘sexual predator’ who abused his fame, victims say before his sentencing

Comedian Russell Brand, once one of Britain’s most high-profile broadcasters and a Hollywood star, abused his influence and the power that came with his fame to rape and sexually assault four women, prosecutors said at his sentencing on Monday. Brand – the former husband of US pop singer Katy Perry who in recent years moved away from the mainstream – faces a lengthy prison sentence after he was convicted on Thursday of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three more between 2004 and 2009. The 51-year-old sat in the dock at Southwark Crown Court, wearing a grey suit and open-necked white shirt, and made a sign of the cross towards his wife in the public gallery, before prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones set out the impact of his crimes. One of Brand’s victims, who accused Brand of sexually assaulting her in 2004 and then orally raping her, said the attack had left her traumatised. Brand was convicted of sexually assaulting her but acquitted of rape. “That undeserved feeling of shame and ‘what if I had done this or done that’ has been carried round inside me for over 20 years,” she said from behind a screen. Another of Brand’s victims, whom Brand anally raped in 2009, said in a statement read by prosecutors that the trauma of the attack was “something I carry with me every day and it often feels never-ending”. “I felt that if I reported him, I would not be believed,” she said. “His fame, wealth and influence created a power imbalance which made me feel powerless.” Karmy-Jones told the court: “Mr Brand abused his influence and the power that came with his fame.” She said he had used it “to facilitate access to women, without which the offending could not have taken place … it also fed his own view that he could commit such offences with impunity.” BRAND COULD FACE MORE CHARGES Judge Joel Bennathan was expected to pass sentence from 2 p.m. (1400 GMT) on Monday. Karmy-Jones told the court the maximum sentence for rape was life imprisonment. Brand’s lawyer, Ian Winter, said Brand – who has spoken at length about his recovery from drink and drug addiction and his new-found Christian faith – was “a fundamentally different person today and has been for a very long time.” London’s Metropolitan Police has said Brand is under investigation for two other alleged rapes, one involving a then-16-year-old girl, and the head of the force said he “wouldn’t be surprised if many more came forward”. Brand, who starred in films such as “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”, “Get Him to the Greek” and “Arthur”, had denied all the charges and ever having non-consensual sex. Prosecutors said Brand, who rose to fame as a television presenter known for his loquacious manner and flamboyant appearance, used and abused women to satisfy his own desires. Brand acknowledged in evidence he had dedicated a lot of his life to what he described as “reckless philandering and idiocy” but said sexual consent was fundamental. But, after a four-week trial, Brand was found guilty of one count of rape and three sexual assaults. He was acquitted of two other rape charges and an attempted indecent assault.