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Russell Brand jailed for 10 and a half years: Judge's remarks in full
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00:00I make clear that I disregard the allegations in the documentary and the allegations in the recent trial of which
00:08the jury were less than sure and found you not guilty.
00:13Your victim in count three was a professional woman at the party of a man you both knew.
00:19It was July 2024 and she had seen you on the television and wanted to be introduced to you as
00:28she thought you were funny.
00:30You were told there was a woman who wanted to meet you.
00:34That was all you needed to feel entitled to grab her breasts as she sat talking to you.
00:40In your trial you said you had never touched a woman sexually without her consent and that included this woman.
00:47In the light of the jury's verdicts that was one of a series of lies you told.
00:54The effect on her had her wandering the streets of London, phoning a friend in the middle of the night,
01:01tearful and distressed.
01:04I accept I need to be cautious in assessing her reaction as the jury acquitted you of a later attack
01:11on the same woman, but something caused her that great upset.
01:17In her victim impact statement, which she read to the court this morning, she spoke of being extremely upset and
01:25traumatised, feeling vulnerable every time she went out for the evening and feeling sick on the many occasions she saw
01:33you in newspapers or on the television.
01:37In terms of the relevant guideline that that offence falls into category 3B, it displayed your casual arrogant disregard of
01:47any woman's right to say no to you.
01:50In my view, the degree of upset cause to the victim is significantly above that, which would normally follow from
01:58a sexual assault in the 3B category.
02:01So this is an occasion where I'm satisfied it will be contrary to the interests of justice not to go
02:07above the prescribed sentencing range.
02:10Gave an account which I accept without reservation.
02:14She said, and I quote,
02:18He said, aye, aye, and grabbed me by my face and started to kiss me.
02:23He was pushing his body against mine, walking me backwards so my back was against the wall.
02:30The three men and a woman were stood there.
02:33He was just kissing me.
02:35He was very frenzied.
02:36No greeting, no time for me to understand what went on.
02:40This was a perfect stranger who just grabbed me and ran his hands over my body while I had my
02:47back against the wall.
02:49The kiss was hard and sloppy.
02:51He kissed me all down my neck.
02:54His hands were at that same time all over me.
02:58He touched my bum and my breasts with his other hands just pinning me against the wall,
03:04with his body was pressed up against me so I was not able to move.
03:10It was rough, very, very rough.
03:13He touched my breasts hard.
03:15He squeezed my breasts.
03:16I was in shock.
03:18The others did nothing.
03:20I looked at the woman.
03:21I looked at her.
03:23She didn't say anything, nor did the men.
03:26They did not move.
03:27It was the middle of my working day.
03:29No doubt your companions thought it was outrageous, laddish behavior that only you could get away with.
03:37It was outrageous and possibly laddish, but also a criminal offense.
03:44And as it turns out, you haven't got away with it.
03:48In her victim impact statement, she wrote of being startled every time she heard your voice on the television,
03:55of the incident damaging her relationship with male colleagues,
04:00and of suffering from stress, at least some of which she implies was caused by your assault on her.
04:08That offense falls into the upper part of Category 2B, as it was sustained.
04:14There was the added humiliation of you assaulting her in front of an audience and the laughter afterwards,
04:20and the violence used to pin her to the wall was beyond the force that any sexual assault will involve.
04:30In spring 2009, you raped the victim in count six.
04:35She was 21, you were 33.
04:38She was a huge fan of yours, which you were happy to exploit.
04:43She had willing, consensual sexual activity with you after your show.
04:50You took her phone number, and if anyone still needs any demonstration of your contempt for your casual sexual partners,
04:58you stored her number under T for Tart.
05:03You invited her to your house a few days later.
05:07There you put on a condom at her request and had vaginal sex, to which she consented.
05:14You then flipped her over, removed the condom, and, without asking, forced your penis into her anus, causing her great
05:24pain.
05:26She asked you to stop, then asked you again loudly.
05:30You replied, and I, quote,
05:32I want you to feel my cum.
05:36You ejaculated.
05:37She was distraught and in severe pain.
05:41The bed was heavily soiled by blood, sperm, and faeces.
05:47You told her it was her mess, and made her try to clear it up.
05:52Shortly after, you went off to get ready, then went to work.
05:57She was driven to a nearby underground station by your driver,
06:01who for some reason had tissues ready to hand to her as she wept.
06:05She was left distraught, in pain, and terrified she might have contracted HIV.
06:14In her victim impact statement, she wrote of struggling to eat and sleep,
06:20of taking two to three months off from work,
06:23and of abandoning the career she had embarked upon.
06:27Although the rape was 17 years ago,
06:29she still finds it affects her ability to form new friendships,
06:33and to know when she can trust people.
06:35From her evidence at trial,
06:38I also know she developed an alcohol problem,
06:41partly as a result of your attack on her.
06:46Ordering your victim to clean your sheets
06:49was an additional, even if brief, humiliation.
06:51I will not detail the victim's lengthy mental health and addiction problems here,
06:58as they might have a tendency to identify her.
07:01But the harm was significant and long-lasting.
07:05It could be seen as severe,
07:08though she told the police,
07:09with an openness that characterised her evidence,
07:12that there had been other issues in her life
07:15that contributed to those later difficulties.
07:18The combination of that damage and the humiliation
07:22placed this count squarely into Category 2B of the guidelines.
07:29There are two serious further aggravating factors,
07:33overlapping but distinct,
07:34in your removal of the condom without her agreement,
07:38and you ejaculating into her,
07:40which led to her months of fearing she might have HIV.
07:46Those aspects must raise the sentence
07:48to two years above the starting point
07:51before I consider such mitigation as you have.
07:56Count 7 shows yet again your staggering arrogance,
08:00and it shows how your entourage indulged your dreadful behaviour.
08:05And she was then told by one of the men with you
08:08that you would not continue unless she gave you a massage.
08:14She was taken aback, but felt she had no choice.
08:18You then entered the room and placed your face in her lap,
08:23positioned so that when you told her to get on with it,
08:26she could feel your breath on her vagina.
08:29She reluctantly pressed her thumbs into your shoulders,
08:33then exclaimed how bony you were,
08:35leading your acolytes to laugh,
08:37possibly at you rather than her,
08:39and you to leap up and start insulting her
08:42with childish but sexualised comments
08:45about whether she had a, quote, fanny.
08:48Those insults in front of an audience
08:50said after the assault
08:52amount to an additional humiliation.
08:55The whole episode reeks of casual disrespect
08:59and your belief that fame meant you could act
09:02how you liked, when you liked,
09:05unhindered by the rules by which decent people live.
09:09Your victim for that offence wrote in her impact statement
09:12of being left upset,
09:15losing her trust in people,
09:17and not feeling safe in her workplace.
09:20That count falls into category 2B of the guidelines,
09:25and her words are a reminder
09:27that even in crimes which,
09:29under the guidelines I have to follow,
09:31are not the most serious,
09:33the consequences for the victim
09:35are profound and lasting.
09:39In their written submissions,
09:40the prosecution have pointed to a number
09:43of aggravating features under the guidelines.
09:46I have accepted some.
09:48My reasons for not accepting others
09:50are as follows.
09:53The prosecution suggested on count 7
09:55that you acted, quote,
09:58with others to commit the offence, unquote,
10:01because your associates,
10:02named as Jack and Gareth,
10:04were present and told the victim
10:06of your demand for a massage.
10:09Both men should have told you
10:11to behave yourself
10:13when you told them to pass on that demand.
10:16And they should have intervened
10:17when you thrust your face
10:19into the victim's groin.
10:21But I cannot be sure
10:23either man knew what you were planning.
10:27The prosecution suggested
10:29your offending in counts 5 and 7
10:31were an abuse of trust,
10:33as you were, by now,
10:35a famous man in the victim's workplaces.
10:38The term, quote,
10:40abuse of trust, unquote,
10:42however, has a defined meaning
10:44under the guidelines,
10:45and being a celebrity
10:46is not within it.
10:49The prosecution also suggested
10:52that your fame should be taken
10:54as an overarching aggravating factor,
10:57both as it made the harm greater,
10:59because the women could not avoid
11:00seeing mention of you afterwards,
11:02and as it allowed you
11:04to commit these offences.
11:05I have taken the first aspect
11:08into account
11:09in assessing the harm you caused,
11:11but I regard the second
11:12as an intrinsic part
11:14of each offence.
11:16I also need to be careful
11:17I'm not punishing you
11:19more because you're famous.
11:23Lastly,
11:24the prosecution suggested
11:25that the victim in count 3
11:27was, quote,
11:28particularly vulnerable, unquote,
11:30as she had had a few drinks,
11:32and they say the same
11:34of the victim in count 6,
11:35because she was 11 years
11:37your junior
11:37and she admired you.
11:40In your trial,
11:41I saw both women
11:43give evidence at length.
11:45They were both
11:46accomplished women
11:47who took perfectly
11:48reasonable decisions
11:50to go to a party
11:51and have a few drinks
11:53or to go to your house
11:54for one type of consensual sex.
11:58They were no more
11:59or less vulnerable
12:00than any adult woman
12:02making those choices.
12:05I pause to add
12:06and stress at once
12:08the fact they did so
12:10in no way, shape, or form
12:12diminishes your culpability
12:14for sexually assaulting one
12:16and raping the other.
12:18Whatever women wear,
12:21wherever they go,
12:23indeed, whatever they drink,
12:25they retain the right
12:26to say no
12:27and to demand
12:29justice from the criminal courts
12:31when sexual predators
12:33like you,
12:34Ross O'Brand,
12:35act without their consent.
12:39The mitigation in your case
12:41is the fact you had
12:42no significant
12:43previous convictions
12:44and the 17 years
12:46that have passed
12:47since the last
12:48of these offences
12:49and the life
12:51you've led since,
12:52doing good work
12:54and especially
12:54in assisting those
12:56wrestling with addictions,
12:57often by funding treatment.
13:00The statement
13:01in your support
13:02by Dean Osgood
13:03was particularly impressive
13:05as he wrote of you
13:06giving him your time,
13:08not just your money.
13:10I'm also very conscious
13:11that your imprisonment
13:12will deprive your children
13:13of the presence
13:14of their father.
13:15The guidelines
13:17for sexual assault
13:18make a similar point.
13:20Quote,
13:21the more serious
13:22the offence,
13:23the less the weight
13:24should normally be attributed
13:25to this factor.
13:27End of quote.
13:28The guidance
13:29for judges
13:30passing sentence
13:31for historical
13:32sexual abuse
13:33states that,
13:34quote,
13:35where there is an absence
13:36of further offending
13:37over a long period
13:38of time,
13:39especially combined
13:40with evidence
13:41of good character,
13:42this may be treated
13:44by the court
13:44as a mitigating factor.
13:47But the guidance
13:48then goes on to add,
13:50quote,
13:50the more serious
13:51the offence,
13:52the less the weight
13:53which should normally
13:54be attributed
13:55to this factor.
13:58All that guidance
13:59might suggest
14:00I should make
14:01no reduction
14:02for the two matters
14:03stress in mitigation.
14:05Further,
14:06treating you
14:07as a man
14:07of good character
14:08by the time
14:09of the rape
14:09is at least tempered
14:11because by then
14:12you'd committed
14:13to sexual assaults.
14:15Nevertheless,
14:16in my view,
14:17it would be wrong
14:18to disregard
14:19your mitigation
14:20altogether,
14:21so I will reduce
14:22the sentence
14:23I would otherwise
14:24have imposed
14:25for the rape
14:25by a year.
14:28I have not
14:29ordered a pre-sentence
14:30report,
14:31nor did your lawyers
14:32seek one.
14:34Reports are needed
14:35when a judge
14:36has in mind
14:37a non-custodial sentence
14:38or a finding
14:40of future
14:40dangerousness.
14:42these crimes
14:43are far too
14:44serious
14:44for anything
14:45other than
14:45immediate custody.
14:47Given how long
14:48ago these
14:49offences were
14:50committed
14:50and the evidence
14:51of your wife,
14:52I accept there
14:53is no sound
14:54evidential basis
14:55for me to conclude
14:56you pose a risk
14:57for the future.
14:59Reports can also
15:01be very useful
15:02in telling a judge
15:03more about
15:04an offender,
15:05but in this case
15:06I've heard you
15:07give evidence,
15:08heard character
15:09evidence,
15:09and your legal
15:11team I am
15:12confident
15:12have been able
15:13to tell me
15:14anything more
15:15about you
15:16that I need
15:17to know.
15:19Finally,
15:20before passing
15:20sentence,
15:22I pause to
15:23pay tribute
15:23to the determination
15:24and bravery
15:25of all the women
15:27whose evidence
15:28I have been
15:28recounting.
15:29I do not
15:31increase your
15:32punishment
15:33because of it,
15:34but all those
15:36women had to
15:36face being
15:37confronted and
15:38being told
15:39they'd lied
15:39or twisted the
15:41truth and
15:42or they'd
15:43agreed to your
15:44sexual demands.
15:45That was all
15:46done because of
15:47you on your
15:48instructions.
15:49I also commend
15:51the Metropolitan
15:52Police for their
15:53hard work in
15:54gathering evidence
15:55and taking
15:56great care of
15:57all the women
15:58who testified.
16:00Will you
16:00stand up,
16:01please?
16:04I pass a
16:05sentence of
16:06imprisonment for
16:07nine months
16:08for count
16:08three,
16:10eighteen months
16:11for count
16:12five,
16:13reduced from
16:14two years to
16:14allow for
16:15totality,
16:15and eight
16:17months for
16:18count seven.
16:19Those sentences
16:20are all
16:21concurrent to
16:22one another
16:23to further
16:24allow for
16:24totality,
16:25but consecutive
16:26to the
16:27sentence for
16:28rape.
16:29The sentence
16:30I pass on
16:31count six,
16:32rape,
16:32is nine
16:33years imprisonment.
16:34So the
16:35total sentence
16:36is one of
16:37ten years,
16:38six months.
16:39The few days
16:40you have
16:41already served
16:41will count.
16:43You will
16:43serve two
16:44thirds of
16:45that sentence,
16:46then be
16:46released on
16:47license,
16:48and will be
16:49liable to be
16:49recalled into
16:50custody if you
16:51breach its
16:52terms.
16:53On your
16:54release,
16:54you will
16:54also be
16:55indefinitely
16:56subject to
16:57the notification
16:57requirements under
16:59the Sexual
16:59Offences Act
17:012003.
17:02Would you go
17:03with the
17:03officers,
17:03please?
17:04offence?