Russell Brand rape conviction and call for further victims to come forward, Digi Mart USA News (London, United Kingdom): The head of Scotland Yard has called on anyone with fresh allegations against the convicted rapist Russell Brand to come forward. Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, said he would not be surprised if “many more” alleged victims emerged after the former comedian and online influencer was convicted of rape and sexual assault on Thursday.
Brand, 51, was described during his trial as a ruthless, calculated and manipulative sexual predator. He was convicted of raping a woman at his luxury London townhouse and of sexually assaulting three women in separate incidents in front of his entourage at a radio station, a TV studio and a bar.
Brand is under investigation for two further rape allegations, and the Met has submitted files to the Crown Prosecution Service. Rowley told Times Radio on Friday: “There’s two more rape allegations that we’re looking at.
We’re encouraging anybody else to come forward if there’s any other allegations.” He later added on BBC Breakfast: “I clearly wouldn’t be surprised if many more came forward.”
The charges and conviction followed a 2023 Channel 4 Dispatches documentary and reports in the Times and Sunday Times that aired allegations against him. Dorothy Byrne, a former head of news and current affairs at Channel 4 who has spoken of her own experience of sexual assault, warned of a power disparity between high-profile talent and younger staff on short-term contracts.
She said such disparities often prevent victims from speaking out because of fear of professional retaliation.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Byrne said: “Things are a lot better, particularly in large organisations. But I think that there are still young women, and, I may say, young men, at risk in smaller organisations.” She added that she hoped the Brand case could be a turning point, saying some men who had behaved badly would be feeling frightened because they had seen brave young women come forward to the police.
Rowley later said some of what he had heard reported from Brand’s trial was “getting very close to victim blaming.” It was put to him that Brand’s defence lawyer, Ian Winter KC, told jurors that “none of the complainants had, in his words, resisted or screamed or even tried to leave.” Asked whether he would support the victims’ commissioner, Claire Waxman, who wants the courts and tribunals bill to include a legal duty for judges to issue directions to juries on rape myths and misconceptions in every rape trial, Rowley said: “I strongly support Claire.”
Labour MP and former safeguarding minister Jess Phillips said the trial was a “rare insight for the public into the kind of things that get said during rape trials.” She said she had sat through many rape trials and described myths and stereotypes around women “just misunderstanding badly behaved, boyish behaviour.” Phillips also noted that the defence in this case had asked “why aren’t there more women if this were true,” adding: “Turns out there are more women coming forward.” She said it is “not an easy gig for a victim to take on very, very expensive, well-paid lawyers of celebrities during a trial.”
