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Russell Brand is being investigated over rape complaints made by two more women, police have said, according to the BBC.
The comedian was found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault by a jury of eight men and four women at Southwark Crown Court, following a three-week trial. He was found not guilty of two counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault.
Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy of the Metropolitan Police, who led the investigation, said he believed more women might come forward after the verdicts. He said he hoped the outcome would give them “courage” and “confidence”.
Furphy told the BBC that Brand had initially been reserved in police interviews but became more confident as officers continued questioning him. “As he gets used to something, he becomes more emboldened by it,” he said. “You can certainly see that in his offending.”
Hundreds of people were interviewed during the investigation. Officers said several witnesses came forward, including some who had previously had sexual relationships with Brand. Katy Perry, the US singer who was married to Brand from 2010 to 2012, was not interviewed.
Brand, 51, was described in court as “ruthless” and a “sexual predator”. Some of the women said they had been “haunted for years” by what he had done to them.
Allegations about Brand’s behaviour first appeared in the media in September 2023, when The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches jointly reported that four women had accused him of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse. Brand strongly denied the claims.
The Metropolitan Police investigation into other reports began soon after the reports were published. “We kind of assumed that people might want to come forward,” Furphy said. “And people came forward.”
Reports were made to police forces across the country, and the Metropolitan Police established a dedicated team for the investigation, named Operation Actinolite. Officers have since taken more than 340 witness statements, including from Brand’s former employers, former colleagues and associates.
One officer was tasked with reading Brand’s books, watching his stand-up performances and DVDs, and listening to his podcasts to help build the case. Furphy said Brand’s public profile and intense media scrutiny presented challenges for the police team.
The allegations were all “non-recent”, with the earliest dating back 27 years. There was no CCTV or forensic evidence, so police looked for other material, including where the women had been at the time and whom they had spoken to afterwards.
A former friend of Brand gave evidence for the prosecution, and the jury heard a statement from the parents of one of the women. Brand’s former personal assistant, who worked closely with him, told the jury about his “insane sexual appetite”.
Brand was first interviewed under caution two months after the investigation began and was questioned twice more in the following months. Each time, he gave officers a prepared statement saying he did not recognise the complainants or recall the alleged incidents, and that any sexual activity, if it had taken place, would have been consensual. He then answered “no comment” to questions.
Charges were brought against Brand in early April 2025: one count of rape, one count of oral rape, two counts of sexual assault and one allegation of indecent assault. The last charge was later changed to attempted indecent assault at trial. The charges concerned women who had come forward after the initial Channel 4 documentary.
The following month, Brand appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London and pleaded not guilty at a later hearing. In July 2025, he was interviewed for a fourth time before being charged with a further count of rape and a count of sexual assault. He denied those allegations too.
On 14 October 2026, accompanied by his wife, Laura, Brand entered the dock at Southwark Crown Court in London for the start of his trial. The women gave evidence to the jury from behind a screen; some cried as they testified.
Furphy said he thought more women might come forward, adding that they could gain “some courage and some confidence” from what had happened in court. He praised the women for their bravery during what he described as a “deeply uncomfortable” process, saying: “They are courageous, determined women and our focus has always been on them, not Russell Brand.”
