Russell Brand, the firebrand YouTuber, comedian and actor, was found guilty in London on Thursday of rape and sexual assault.
The jury reached its verdict after a three-week trial in which prosecutors accused Mr. Brand, 51, in all of seven criminal counts. He was convicted of four and found not guilty of three.
Here’s what to know about the verdict.
What were the charges?
Prosecutors had originally accused Mr. Brand of three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault. A judge during the trial amended the indecent assault charge to attempted indecent assault, citing insufficient evidence.
What was the verdict?
On Thursday, the jury unanimously delivered the following verdict:
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Guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault.
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Not guilty of two other counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault.
What happened in the trial?
The lead prosecutor for the trial, Riel Karmy-Jones, characterized Mr. Brand as a “ruthless” sexual predator who saw women “simply a means to an end.”
She said that the charges, which involved six women, dated from 1999 to 2009, a period when Mr. Brand became a star in Britain as a stand-up comedian and television and radio host. Mr. Brand pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
The jury heard testimony from the women in the trial, and their police interviews were played to the court.
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One woman said that Mr. Brand raped her in rented accommodations during a 1999 British political party conference.
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A second woman said that Mr. Brand tried to pull her into a bathroom in 2001 after meeting him in the offices of a TV company, prompting the attempted indecent assault charge.
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A third woman met Mr. Brand at a bar in 2004, where she said that he sexually assaulted her, groping her breasts, and orally raped her in a nearby bathroom.
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A fourth woman accused Mr. Brand of sexually assaulting her at a radio station in 2004 or 2005, kissing and groping her while people watched.
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A fifth woman accused Mr. Brand of anally raping her in 2009.
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A sixth woman, who worked with Mr. Brand, accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2009, putting his head in her groin area after insisting he give her a massage.
What did Russell Brand say in his defense?
Mr. Brand pleaded not guilty to all seven charges and also denied them in a video on his YouTube channel.
He took the stand in the third week of the trial, where he told the court that although he had dedicated much of his life to “beyond reckless philandering,” he had never engaged in non-consensual sex.
At times, he said of his fame, he had “misused that commodity very, very selfishly.” But he also called consent “fundamental, essential, necessary.”
He also said that the accusations against him had taken a “devastating” toll on his life, agreeing with a lawyer who said that former friends who could have spoken in Mr. Brand’s defense would now “not touch him with a barge pole.”
What happens next?
Mr. Brand’s lawyers will have the opportunity to appeal the case. A sentencing hearing is expected to follow at a later date.
The women who accused Mr. Brand have the right to lifelong anonymity under British law.
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