Russell Brand will be sentenced on Monday after a London jury convicted him of rape and three sexual assaults

Russell Brand will learn on Monday how long he will spend in prison. The 51-year-old was convicted at Southwark Crown Court in London on Thursday of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, and has been held in custody since the verdicts.

Justice Joel Bennathan told Brand that he had been convicted of a number of offences, including rape, and that the verdicts meant “a significant custodial term”. Brand had been on bail throughout the four-week trial.

In London, the sentencing hearing falls on Monday 9 November, which will be Monday evening in Australia.

What was he convicted of?

The jury found Brand guilty of raping a woman at his home in 2009, after she met him at one of his shows. He was also convicted of three sexual assaults on three other women: one at a party in 2004, one at a London radio station in 2004 or 2005, and one during the recording of an advertisement in 2009.

He was found not guilty of two other counts of rape and of one count of attempted indecent assault. In all, he faced seven counts and pleaded not guilty to all of them.

The women cannot be identified under UK law. They did not know one another and went to police separately after a British television documentary aired allegations against Brand in 2023.

What did Brand say?

Brand denied every allegation. In evidence before the verdict, he told the jury the encounters had been consensual, and that the women’s accounts had been “reinvented or reimagined”. He said the claims had had a devastating impact on his life.

He also acknowledged that, as he became famous, he had been comfortable allowing fame to give him sexual access to women, something he told the court he agreed was wrong.

The prosecution, led by Riel Karmy-Jones, told the jury Brand was “ruthless” and a sexual predator.

What have police said?

Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy of the Metropolitan Police said Brand “used his influence, status and fame” to exploit and sexually offend against women, and praised the women’s courage in coming forward. The Met said its investigation into rape allegations made by two further women is continuing. No charges have been announced over those allegations.

What is he facing?

Under the Sentencing Council’s guidelines, rape carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, and sexual assault a maximum of 10 years. The judge will set the sentence after hearing from the prosecution and the defence on Monday.

Why does this case matter?

Brand was one of Britain’s best-known entertainers in the 2000s: a stand-up comedian, BBC radio host, bestselling memoir writer and Hollywood actor, with roles in films including Forgetting Sarah Marshall. He was married to Katy Perry from 2010 to 2012.

After the allegations surfaced in 2023, he moved to Florida, built a large online following and spoke publicly about his Christian faith. The verdicts mean a man who denied every allegation to the end, and kept a large online following throughout, now faces prison.