‘Our work’s not done’: Russell Brand detective urges other potential victims to come forward
Özet haber: Brand is under investigation over two more rape allegations and police say others could speak up after guilty verdicts
Brand is under investigation over two more rape allegations and police say others could speak up after guilty verdicts
The lead detective in the case against Russell Brand has urged other potential victims of the comedian to come forward after it emerged he is under investigation for two further rape allegations and faces a civil claim in the UK.
Det Supt Andy Furphy, the Metropolitan police’s strategic lead in the investigation, described Brand, 51, as “a predator” whose behaviour escalated as his fame grew.
On Thursday, Brand was found guilty of raping a fan and sexually assaulting three women over five years at the height of his career. He was cleared of two further counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault after a four-week trial at Southwark crown court.
It can now be revealed that Brand is under investigation for two further rape allegations and that the Met has submitted files to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Brand has also been accused of sexually assaulting a woman at his mansion in Los Angeles in 2008, in a civil claim filed at the high court in London.
The Met’s investigation into Brand, named Operation Actinolite, involved tracing and speaking to more than 100 witnesses, reviewing more than 1,400 documents and taking more than 340 statements, including from Brand’s former employers, colleagues and associates.
Speaking after Brand’s conviction, Furphy said the police investigation was continuing and he believed there could be more victims.
“If you get a conviction then it tends to encourage other people to come forward because they see the courage and the bravery and the resilience that these women have had to go through this criminal justice process, and they feel their own strength as a result of that. They want to come forward and have their story told,” he told the Guardian.
“So, yes, there may be more victims of Russell Brand out there, but for now our focus remains on the women that came forward.”
The Met said Brand had been interviewed under caution in connection with two further rape allegations made by two women. “Files have been submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service in relation to both complainants. Detectives remain in close contact with prosecutors as inquiries continue and further investigative work is carried out,” a spokesperson said.
Pre-trial legal documents suggested there were outstanding charges against Brand in relation to a woman who made allegations about him in a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary in 2023. She accused Brand of grooming her and sending a BBC car to bring her to him from the gates of her school when she was a 16-year-old pupil.
Furphy refused to comment on any outstanding inquiries but appealed for women to come forward if they had anything to report.
“We have a live investigation. Our work’s not done,” Furphy said. “What I would say, is if you’ve been affected by the case, if Russell Brand has committed a crime against you, rape or serious sexual violence or a sex assault, whatever it might be, and you haven’t spoken to police yet, then come forward. We’ve got specially trained staff, specially trained officers. We’ll support you and listen to you.”
