UK's Russell Brand sentenced to 10-and-a-half years in jail for rape, sexual assault

Comedian Russell Brand, once one of Britain's ‌most high-profile broadcasters and a Hollywood star, was jailed for 10-and-a-half years on Monday after he was convicted of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three more around two decades ago. Brand – the former husband of US pop singer Katy Perry ‌who in recent years moved away from the mainstream – was convicted on Thursday of raping one woman and ‌sexually assaulting three more between 2004 and 2009. He had denied all the charges.

The 51-year-old stood in the dock at London's Southwark Crown Court as Judge Joel Bennathan sentenced him to 10 years and six months, saying he would serve two-thirds in custody before being released ⁠on licence. Brand ​was a sexual predator ⁠who believed "fame meant you could act how you liked, when you liked, unhindered by the rules by which decent people live", Bennathan told ⁠Brand.

Brand mouthed "I love you" to his wife before he was led away by dock officers and down to the cells. Earlier, ​one of Brand's victims, whom Brand anally raped in 2009, said in a statement read by prosecutors ⁠that the trauma of the attack was "something I carry with me every day and it often feels never-ending".

Brand's lawyer Ian Winter said Brand – who ⁠has ​spoken at length about his recovery from drink and drug addiction and his new-found Christian faith – was "a fundamentally different person today and has been for a very long time". London's Metropolitan Police has said Brand is under investigation ⁠for two other alleged rapes, one involving a then-16-year-old girl, and the head of the force said on Friday that ⁠he "wouldn't be surprised if ⁠many more came forward".

Brand, who starred in films such as "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", "Get Him to the Greek" and "Arthur", had denied ever having non-consensual sex. He was acquitted of two ‌other rape charges and ‌an attempted indecent assault.