Russell Brand found guilty of rape and sexual assault

Russell Brand has been found guilty at Southwark Crown Court of one rape and three counts of sexual assault following his high-profile trial.He has been found guilty of raping a young fan he met after one of his Hammersmith Apollo shows in 2009.Brand was found guilty of sexually assaulting a Channel 4 worker during a forced massage in 2009.Jurors also found Brand guilty of sexually assaulting a Capital Radio worker after encountering her in a corridor in 2005.He was found guilty of groping another MTV worker during a party at a Soho bar in 2004, but not guilty of going on to orally rape her in a toilet.He was found found not guilty of raping a woman he met at a cabaret show on the fringes of the 1999 Labour Party conference in Bournemouth.Read MoreThe jury also found him not guilty of trying to drag an MTV worker in to a toilet to indecently assault her in 2001.The judge told Brand the consequence of the verdicts is a “significant custodial term”.Mr Justice Bennathan said: “You’ve been convicted of a number of offences including rape.“The consequence of that is inevitably a significant custodial term.“My current view is that I therefore have to remand you into custody.”Brand closed his eyes as he was found guilty of the count of rape.He stood upright in the dock and showed limited emotion as the verdicts were delivered.The media personality was accused of attacking women in a hotel room, at his luxury London home, in their workplaces, and in a Soho bar toilet during a four week trial.The 51-year-old had denied the three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault, and one allegation of attempted indecent assault.During his evidence, Brand said consent during sex was “fundamental” and suggested to him it is “more important that the sex itself”.He denied having a “goal” to sleep with 5,000 women and while he admitted he was “obsessed” with sex in his younger years, he denied the extent of the impact on his life.Breaking story. More follows.