Following a three-week trial at Southwark Crown Court, actor and comedian Russell Brand has been found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. The jury, consisting of eight men and four women, delivered the verdicts after reviewing evidence regarding offences dating back as far as 27 years. Brand, 51, was acquitted of two additional rape charges and one count of attempted indecent assault. According to some of the women, They had been left “haunted for years” by what he did to them. The earliest dated back 27 years. What other available material is there for us to review that might lend some weight to it. In London, the following month he appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. So much so that it took him more than two minutes to walk the short distance to the court door, he was swarmed by camera crews.
Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy of the Metropolitan Police, who spearheaded the three-year investigation known as Operation Actinolite, believes these convictions may encourage further victims to seek justice. “I think it’s likely – potentially – that other women will come forward,” Furphy said, noting that victims may gain the necessary “courage” and “confidence” from the outcomes achieved in court. We kind of assumed that people might want to come forward,” Furphy said, “and people came forward. Can we look at where the victims were at the time.
He emphasized that the focus remains entirely on the victims, whom he described as “courageous, determined women” who endured a “deeply uncomfortable” legal process.
The investigation began after allegations of rape, sexual assault, and emotional abuse were jointly reported in September 2023 by The Times, The Sunday Times, and Channel 4’s Dispatches programme. Allegations about Brand’s behaviour first emerged in the media in September 2023.
Brand, who previously denied all allegations, was interviewed under caution on several occasions starting in November 2023. Katy Perry, the US singer who was married to Brand from 2010 to 2012, was not interviewed.
In these interviews, he provided prepared statements denying recognition of the complainants and claiming that any sexual encounters were consensual before opting to answer further questions with “no comment.”
Operating without contemporary forensic evidence or CCTV due to the “non-recent” nature of the claims, the investigative team adopted a comprehensive strategy. Just because it’s non-recent doesn’t mean that we can’t solve it at all.
Officers gathered over 340 witness statements from former employers, associates, and colleagues.
To build a circumstantial case, police reviewed historical records, including communication between victims and their confidants in the immediate aftermath of the alleged events.
One officer was tasked with analyzing Brand’s extensive archive of stand-up routines, books, and podcasts to identify patterns in his behavior.
Furphy noted that Brand’s demeanor changed as questioning progressed. The detective observed that Brand was initially quiet and coy, but “as he gets used to something, he becomes more emboldened by it.” This shift was described as evident in his offending, which culminated in the current criminal proceedings. During the trial, which began on 14 October 2026, the jury heard testimony from the complainants, who spoke from behind screens while Brand watched from the dock accompanied by his wife, Laura.
Testimony provided by various witnesses, including a former personal assistant who spoke of Brand’s “insane sexual appetite,” painted a picture of a man previously regarded as one of the UK’s most high-profile entertainers. Despite the media scrutiny surrounding the case, investigators successfully brought charges in April 2025, which were later expanded following additional reports. It has now been disclosed that Brand remains under investigation regarding further rape allegations made by two other women. According to victim, Were made to forces across the country and the Met set up a dedicated team of officers to lead the investigation, which it called Operation Actinolite.
