Russell Brand could be jailed for at least TEN YEARS for rape conviction alone, leading sex crimes barrister Eleanor Laws KC tells exclusive Trial podcast

In an exclusive episode of The Trial podcast from The Crime Desk, award-winning court reporters Caroline Cheetham and Liz Hull sit down with one of Britain's leading sexual offences lawyers, Eleanor Laws KC, following Russell Brand's rape conviction.Ms Laws co-wrote the definitive guide for lawyers on charging and sentencing sex crimes, but was not involved in the case against the comic turned wellness guru.Brand, 51, was yesterday found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, and has been remanded in custody ahead of sentencing on Monday.Jurors at Southwark Crown Court found he had anally raped a 21-year-old fan at his Hampstead home in 2009, and sexually assaulted three other women, including groping an MTV worker and a Capital Radio worker between 2004 and 2005.He was cleared of two further counts of rape and one of attempted indecent assault.While stressing she would not be drawn on the specifics of Brand's sentence, Ms Laws told the podcast that the judge faced a complex task. Brand, 51, was yesterday found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, and has been remanded in custody ahead of sentencing on MondayShe explained: 'There are guidelines and the judge will have to look very carefully at whether particular features were present in the incident.'For a rape offence, there are a number of starting points depending on what may or may not have happened. It can range from five years to 15 years.'I don't know the details of any of the allegations, but the rape could attract a starting point as high as ten years if, for example, there were factors such as an additional humiliation as part of the offence, or if the judge considered there was significant planning.'If you have a starting point of ten years, say, you have then got to consider that there are three other sexual assaults, three other victims.'The judge will look at what the starting points are for those and again, if there was humiliation in any of them, there may be at the very least a starting point of something like 18 months for one.' During the four-week trial, the jury heard harrowing evidence from all six women.Giving evidence about the 2009 rape, the victim said Brand ordered her to shower when she arrived, claiming her hair smelt funny, and watched her through the glass cubicle before he raped her.In another 2009 assault, the court heard a Channel 4 worker was pressured by Brand's entourage into giving him a massage before he thrust his head into her lap, while his associates looked on and laughed.Ms Laws also highlighted another key decision facing Mr Justice Bennathan ahead of Monday's hearing.She said: 'That is actually quite a difficult exercise.'Do you make the sentence for each separate victim a consecutive one, which means that you might need to bring the sentence down a little bit to take into account totality?'Or do you say, right, I'm going to deal with the lead offence, the rape offence, and aggravate it up, and then indicate what each would have been worth, but have those sentences run alongside concurrently? Brand will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Monday, and Caroline Cheetham and Liz Hull will be there to report every word on The Trial podcast 'It isn't simple.'Brand will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Monday, and Caroline Cheetham and Liz Hull will be there to report every word on The Trial podcast.Listen to the full episode by subscribing to The Crime Desk. Subscribers gain exclusive access to The Trial+, On The Case, ad-free listening and much more.