Movie star, comedian, and cultural commentator Russell Brand, who publicly came out as a born-again Christian* last year, has been found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault following a multiweek trial in London, and now faces 15 years in prison.
(Warning, explicit content)
We last wrote about Brand in our posts:
A Theological Review Of Russell Brand’s ‘How to Become a Christian in Seven Days’
Russell Brand Opens Up AmFest with Prayer: ‘Thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ, who died so that we may know eternal life’
Russell Brand Tells OnlyFans Porn Star Lily Phillips She is a Child of God+ Body Is a Temple Of the Holy Spirit
In late 2023, Brand, now 51, was accused by multiple women of sexually assaulting and raping them between 1999 and 2009, prompting a police investigation. Six of these women testified in court, and Brand denied the claims, insisting the encounters were consensual.
While he was found ‘not guilty’ on two counts of rape and one count of indecent assault, A summary of the rape count he was convicted on reads:
Brand acknowledged in court that he used his fame to facilitate sexual encounters. He previously said in a video posted to X, “I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord. I was a drug addict, a sex addict and an imbecile. But what I never was was a rapist.”
The prosecutor in the case told the jury that while Brand “may now treat women with kindness and respect” and have a different view and standard of consent, that is irrelevant given what he believed and how he acted 25 years ago, where he was a deviant sexual predator.
Judge Bennathan told Brand following the verdict:
You’ve been convicted of a number of offenses 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, who has been married to wife Laura for the last nine years and has three children with her, now faces between 8 and 15 years in prison.
Editor’s Note. We don’t know if Brand is a believer. He certainly has some strange beliefs, at times seemingly mixing new age woo-woo stuff with Christianity, but we are hopeful that he is, giving him the benefit of a doubt.
As we’ve said many times before, the sanctification process is very messy, especially for new believers, where frequently it’s two steps foward and one step back. This is why it’s so important for new Christians to be surrounded by a faithful and mature church family, where they can can receive discipling, accountability, correction and exhortation, and help minimize the messiness as they grow in the Lord.
Whether the seed gets eaten by birds, scorched in the sun, choked by thistles, or embeded deep in good soil, time will tell, and we should be praying in the meantime.
