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Actor and comedian Russell Brand has been sentenced to ten and a half years in prison for rape and sexual assault, after being found guilty on Thursday at Southwark Crown Court in London, United Kingdom.
Judge Joel Bennathan, who read the sentence this Monday, described Brand as a "sexual predator" who told a "series of lies" and showed "astonishing arrogance."
One of the BBC's court correspondents, Helena Wilkinson, reported that Brand did not react during the reading of the sentence:
"When he was taken to the cells, he stopped for a moment to say to his wife, without making a sound, 'I love you.'"
Before the sentence was read, one of the victims gave a statement about the impact that Brand's crimes had on her.
"I wanted to express how this crime has affected me. I was in shock and in great turmoil for weeks. I felt deeply disturbed and traumatized. I had no respect for myself," she said, speaking from behind a curtain.
Wildinson reported that the actor did not show any emotion during the victim's story, who read some passages of his statement with a broken voice.
Another correspondent, Sima Kotecha, indicated that - according to the Sentencing Council - Brand is likely to serve two-thirds of his sentence in prison:
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"The agency indicates that criminals sentenced to sentences of four years or more for certain serious crimes - of a violent or sexual nature - will be released after having served two-thirds of the sentence."
Once released, he will likely spend the remainder of his sentence under supervision and must comply with specific rules, such as wearing an electronic monitoring device, the correspondent added.
News in development.
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