Russell Brand found guilty of rape - latest updates

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The Hard Shoulder with Ciara Kelly and Shane Colman on Newstalk with Ciara.

Shane Colman (1:08)

Now, as you heard on the news there, Russell Brand has been found guilty of rape and sexual assault.

Joining us to give us the latest on the verdict is Caroline Frost, entertainment journalist. A warning to listeners, some of the details in this report may be distressing. Caroline, thanks indeed for joining us. Can you tell us what transpired in court this afternoon?

Caroline Frost (1:31)

Yes. We know that the jury have been out for the majority of this week. They came back in this afternoon and they announced that Russell Brand had been found guilty on one charge of rape and three counts of sexual assault.

That meant that he was in line for his custodial sentence in theory, because that's what some of those convictions carry, and that's what the judge has said he should expect when sentencing takes place on Monday. He's also said that because of the severity of these now convictions, not just charges, he would be remanding Russell Brand in custody. So he is now in custody, awaiting sentencing on Monday.

Shane Colman (2:12)

Found guilty of one charge of rape and three sexual assaults and then acquitted of two counts of rape and one charge of indecent assault. What was the reaction in the courtroom when this verdict was read out?

Caroline Frost (2:26)

Quiet as a mouse. So you could have heard a pin drop. Russell Brand was dry-eyed. He looked at the ceiling. He looked around. He looked at his wife. He told her that he loved her before the verdict was announced. His wife had her head in her hand. She was upset. She was tearful and she was having her hand held by a friend sitting to the side of her in the public gallery. And she has now left the court. And it's been quite interesting in the couple of hours since then, is that the Metropolitan Police have now released images of Russell Brand being questioned in interview, I guess, to balance the narrative because he's been posting a lot of videos and detailing his side of his opinion and sort of spectating and commenting on events. So they're now having their say. And something else has come out, which is that he is also being investigated for two other allegations of rape.

But no details of that, no charges have been made, but further investigations are going on. They've now been allowed to be reported because of this conviction.

Shane Colman (3:31)

The Crown Prosecution Service didn't hold back in their description of Russell Brand after the verdict.

Caroline Frost (3:40)

No, I mean, they said, you know, it's a day of reckoning and also they commended the bravery, the courage of the women coming forward. I mean, they pretty much laid bare what we've been saying, which is that whatever happens, it is a day of reckoning because of the asymmetry of defendant and complainants. You know, Russell Brand, a man, at the time of the allegations, at the peak of his powers, his popularity, his resources, his stardom, his allure.

And in comparison, these women were nobodies. And yet, they have come forward, some of them years later, detailing trauma as a result of their encounters with him. And the day has come where it seems that the justice has, as they say, ground slowly but truthfully.

Shane Colman (4:27)

Yeah, they also think he used the crime prosecution service, used the term calculated sexual predator. And the verdict will be given quite quickly by Monday, I believe, is that correct?