Comedian-actor Russell Brand convicted of rape, sexual assault; taken into custody

Brand had firmly denied all the charges based on allegations made by six women, as per Deadline.

Former actor and comedian Russell Brand has been convicted on three counts of sexual assault and one count of rape in his London criminal trial, reported Variety. On Thursday, the jury at London's Southwark Crown Court delivered the verdict, bringing an end to days of deliberations. However, he was not found guilty on two other counts of rape and one of attempted indecent assault, which was reduced from indecent assault during the trial.

Brand had firmly denied all the charges based on allegations made by six women, as per Deadline. Judge Joel Bennathan told Brand that he would be given a "custodial sentence of some length," and he was remanded in custody until sentencing on Monday.

Stating that it was unlikely he would extend the former comedian's bail any further, the judge told the 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' star, "You’ve been convicted of a number of offences including one of rape… My current view is that I therefore have to remand you in custody, not least because the temptation to avoid coming back to court to receive that sentence will be overwhelming." The judge allowed both Brand's legal team and the Crown Prosecution Service a break of 20 minutes before returning to make submissions as to whether bail should be extended.

However, the judge denied the application to extend bail. In the UK, a rape conviction can result in up to 19 years in prison and potentially even a life sentence, depending on the seriousness of the offence. The maximum sentence for sexual assault is 10 years.

According to Variety, Russell Brand was accused of raping three women at various locations between 1999 and 2009. One of the alleged victims also accused him of sexual assault in addition to oral rape. He was also accused of one count of attempted indecent assault at MTV's UK offices in 2001 and one count of sexual assault in 2009.

The jury took three days to reach their verdict following a three-week trial. (ANI)