Decision day in the sexual assault case against famous comedian Russel Brand

British comedian and film actor Russell Brand is awaiting the prison sentence he will receive in the case where he is charged with rape and sexual assault against four women.

During the four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court in London, Brand was found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault committed between 2004 and 2009.

Judge Joel Bennathan stated that the 51-year-old defendant would face a long prison sentence after the guilty verdict was announced on Thursday.

The court found Brand guilty of raping a 21-year-old fan and sexually assaulting three female employees of MTV, Channel 4 and Capital Radio, and decided to continue his detention.

Brand, who spent the weekend in a prison cell, was acquitted of two counts of rape and one count of attempted sexual assault.

According to UK law, the crime of rape carries sanctions up to life imprisonment.

Brand, who rose to fame with the programs he produced on Channel 4, MTV and BBC Radio 2 in the 2000s, took part in Hollywood productions such as "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", "Get Him to the Greek" and "Arthur".

Born in 1975 to a working-class family in the Essex district of east London, Brand joined MTV at the age of 25 after leaving drama school.

Brand was fired from the channel after entering the studio dressed as Osama bin Laden after the September 11 attacks and inviting the drug dealer to his workplace.

Brand, who later started producing his own radio program within the BBC, left the channel as a result of the controversy that started after he sent sexual messages about being with the grandson of a well-known actor.

The BBC apologized last week for management shortcomings and work culture during the 2006-2008 period when Brand joined the institution.

Brand, who had a short-lived marriage with American pop music singer Katy Perry in 2010, became known for his statements targeting young female employees on television screens and in stage shows.

Brand has denied all the allegations made following a joint investigation by Channel 4, The Sunday Times and The Times, published in 2023, which launched a police investigation.

The defendant, who claimed that he had never had any non-consensual sexual intercourse, admitted during the trial that he had turned his fame into a tool to establish sexual intimacy.

The prosecutor's office stated that Brand exploited female employees in order to satisfy his own desires.

Brand's wife, Laura Gallacher, the mother of his three children, stated in her statement to the jury during the trial that Brand had difficulty leading a monogamous life in 2006, when their relationship began, and that this lifestyle was known to everyone due to the news in the press.

Gordon Smart, the newspaper's showbiz editor at the time, said of Brand, who was featured in the headlines of The Sun newspaper three times in a row with similar magazine descriptions between 2006 and 2009: "He was like a chameleon, he would change shape depending on the situation."