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LONDON — Jurors have begun deliberating their verdicts in the Russell Brand trial on rape and sexual assault charges.
After three weeks of argument and evidence, Judge Joel Bennathan told the jury at Southwark Crown Court in London that they must reach a unanimous decision.
“I can only accept a decision that is the decision of all 12 of you,” he said.
Brand, who is free on bail, has been in court every day with his wife, Laura Gallacher.
Six women are accusing the comedian of sexual misconduct between 1999 and 2009, ten years when Brand went from rising as a comedian to a celebrity in the UK.
Prosecutors argued that Brand was a “sexual predator” at the time who attacked the women in a hotel room, MTV’s London offices, a London bar toilet, a radio station, a recording studio and his home.
Brand, 51, pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of attempted assault.
Giving evidence, the host admitted he had been sexually obsessed as a younger man, but said his experiences were always consensual.
Brand’s lawyers argued that the plaintiffs’ cases were weakened by the fact that they only went to police years after the alleged assaults, and after the airing of a 2023 documentary containing anonymous allegations against Brand.
Brand’s lawyer, Ian Winter, said the “fountain of justice had been tainted and polluted” by the documentary.
In his closing statement Monday, Winter said the jury must separate the way Brand treated women from the question of whether he committed crimes.
“It is not a crime to mistreat women before, during or after sex,” he said. “It is not, I’m afraid, a crime to be disrespectful or rude or to act like a crazy fool.”
He said Brand was “very sexual and none of it was illegal.”
“Boring, disgusting, immoral, who cares?” said the lawyer. “It is irrelevant to your consideration.”
Known for risqué stand-up routines and battles with drugs and alcohol, Brand rose to prominence in the early 2000s, hosting television shows and his own BBC radio show. He appeared in Hollywood films including “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him to the Greek” and was briefly married to pop star Katy Perry.
In recent years he has moved away from the mainstream media, moved to Florida and built a large online series with videos mixing cheer, conspiracy theories and discussions about his religious faith.
