Police investigating Russell Brand say ‘several more’ people have come forward with information – as rapist faces new charges
Police investigating sexual predator Russell Brand have said ‘several’ more people have come forward with information.
The shamed actor, 51, was yesterday jailed for more than 10 years after being convicted of raping one of his fans and sexually assaulting three other women between 2004 and 2009.
After his conviction last week, it was revealed that two further rape allegations against Brand are already being investigated by detectives and Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said he expects more victims to come forward.
The Met confirmed today that it is probing information from ‘several people’ who have come forward.
A spokesperson for the force said: ‘Several people have contacted the investigation team during and since the trial to provide information or report a potential criminal allegation.
‘Detectives are assessing this information as part of their ongoing enquiries.’
Last night, Brand’s former girlfriend Jemima Goldsmith, 52, became the latest to publicly come forward, accusing the comic of ‘violence, coercive control and abuse’.
She said she was so terrified after a ‘violent incident’ in 2014 that she called police to remove him from her £15million Cotswolds mansion.
Brand with his wife at Southwark Crown Court last Thursday, hours before he was convicted
Laura Gallacher mouths ‘I love you’ to Brand who waved as he was sent down to the cells – after the court heard that she was standing by him
An unrepentant Brand yesterday showed no emotion as a judge said he had abused his celebrity to prey on women, believing ‘fame meant you could act how you liked, when you liked, unhindered by the rules by which decent people live’.
In the dock, Brand sat blinking in disbelief as he was told that he will serve at least seven years of a ten-and-a-half-year sentence for attacks on four women between 2004 and 2009.
Hi, I’m Alex Matthews, Editor of The Crime Desk.
Russell Brand has been found guilty of rape and three sexual assaults – and our reporters Caroline Cheetham and Liz Hull were in court every day to witness it all. They sat down with Detective Inspector Laura Nelson who revealed why the women who accused him in the infamous documentary were not involved in his rape trial.
Brand now faces the prospect of a second trial as police sift through a raft of new claims, and prosecutors are expected to decide within weeks whether to charge him with two further alleged rapes, including an attack on a 16-year-old.
Yesterday Mr Justice Bennathan said the defendant had harboured a ‘casual arrogant disregard to any woman’s right to say no to you’, telling him: ‘About 20 years ago, Russell Brand, you were becoming famous, you were clever, and in many people’s eyes you were funny and charismatic. You had also become a sexual predator.’
The judge blasted Brand’s ‘staggering arrogance’ and belief that his ‘status protected’ him after he resorted to smearing journalists when they first exposed his attacks in 2023.
He also criticised Brand’s entourage for indulging ‘dreadful behaviour’ after assaults took place in front of staff who laughed or did nothing.
He paid tribute to the ‘determination and bravery’ of the victims.
‘All those women had to face being confronted and being told they had lied, or twisted the truth and, or, they had agreed to your sexual demands: that was all done because of you, on your instructions,’ he said.
Mr Justice Bennathan made a point of condemning rape myths after Brand’s defence barrister came under fire for reeling off a series of stereotypes, suggesting the victims should not be believed because they did not scream more, kick or slap him.
The judge said: ‘Whatever women wear, wherever they go, indeed whatever they drink, they retain the right to say no and to demand justice from the criminal courts when sexual predators like you, Russell Brand, act without their consent.’
Brand’s barrister, Mr Winter, was paid around £1million for defending him, legal sources have told the Daily Mail.
The fraud specialist was hired after several top female barristers refused to defend him, it is understood.
But the move backfired, with Mr Winter facing a Bar Standards Board probe after launching a foul-mouthed tirade at the journalist whose investigation exposed Brand, telling her after the verdict that she had ‘f*****’ justice.
Andy Burnham is now promising to change the law, saying he will be ‘relentless in making whatever improvements’ to provide more support for victims.
In court yesterday Mr Winter claimed his client had been unfairly portrayed as a ‘monster’, telling the judge that Brand should be regarded as a man who had a ‘short, momentary total failure’ to respect a woman’s consent.
Despite Brand’s conviction for rape, Mr Winter raised eyebrows among those in the court when he suggested his client should be sentenced ‘not in the way that he has been portrayed over the last four days [as someone] who is, in general terms, a rapist’.
Brand will serve two-thirds of his prison sentence before being released on licence.
He is expected to consult lawyers about an appeal, but legal sources say the jury’s mixed verdicts will make it difficult to persuade appeal judges.
Brand was found guilty of rape and three sexual assaults, but cleared of two further rapes and an attempted indecent assault.
One source said: ‘In a way it would have been easier for Winter if there had been a clean sweep of guilty verdicts, at least then he could have argued that Brand did not get a fair trial because of the Channel 4 Dispatches and Sunday Times investigation.
A sketch shows Brand front, his wife left, his father Ron right, and his bodyguard at the back as he was sentenced
‘The mixed verdicts show the jury reached their verdicts on the facts, regardless of the media attention, which makes an appeal very tricky.’
Following the sentencing, Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy appealed for Brand’s victims to come forward.
He said: ‘I want to make a direct appeal to anyone who has been a victim of rape or any other sexual offence.
‘We know it can take enormous courage to speak about what has happened to you, no matter how long ago it occurred or who was responsible.
‘If you come forward, you will be listened to, supported and treated with care and compassion.’
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