Russell Brand sentenced to over 10 years in prison for rape and sexual assault convictions

The former comedian was found guilty of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others last week. The judge referred to Brand as a "predator." British media personality Russell Brand was sentenced to 10 years and 6 months imprisonment on Monday after being found guilty of rape and assault.

He is required to spend at least two-thirds of that time in prison, and may be released under supervision after that if he displays good conduct while in jail. Judge Joel Bennathan called Brand a "predator," and said that the sentence is "just and proportionate...to the overall gravity of your criminality." The 51-year-old had consistently denied the charges , brought about by six victims on allegations going back as far as 1999.

A jury of four women and eight men did not find his defense that all the encounters were consensual to be plausible, and found him guilty of raping or sexually assaulting four of his accusers. Brand rose to prominence in the UK stand-up scene in the early 2000s with sets focused on his sex life, alcoholism, and heroin addiction.