I’m the detective who nailed rapist Russell Brand
THE DOWNFALL of Russell Brand is a “watershed moment” which will empower women to report celebrity sex offenders, the detective who nailed him said.
Predator Brand, 51, follows in the footsteps of Jimmy Savile and Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, both of whom abused their fame to target women and girls.
Detective Inspector Laura Nelson, who led the Met investigation into Brand, told The Sun: “The conviction of Russell Brand will be a watershed moment.
“This case demonstrates that no person is above the law, no matter how much money they have or how famous they are.
“This might be a case where women, or indeed males, look back and believe they were abused within the media industry or workplace.
“I would encourage them to contact the police and we will listen to you and treat you with care.”
Her message comes as Brand was found guilty of rape and sex attacks on a string of victims as part of a depraved campaign.
Brand was never reported to police for sex offending before being unmasked by a joint September 2023 investigation by C4’s Dispatches and The Sunday Times.
DI Nelson, of the Met’s Complex Sexual Offences Unit, said: “That documentary gave women the confidence to realise they were not alone as victims of Russell Brand.”
She added: “It goes to show how powerful he was that women didn’t report any behaviour as they didn’t think they would be believed.”
DI Nelson said “society has moved on” since the Savile and Goldstein scandals.
She added: “I think we are more emboldened now to challenge bad behaviour.
“I think over the last 10 years, with the MeToo movement, this has brought up themes about power and people abusing it.
“I believe we now have better support mechanisms in place, not only in the police but in work places too, to report any criminal behaviour.”
However, DI Nelson adds: “The methods of reporting and awareness are improving but they can always be better.
“I think maybe this case demonstrates where women didn’t feel they had the confidence within their work places.
“We can all be better but signposting maybe needs improvement if criminal offences are identified and should be reported to the police.”
Ironically, Brand and Savile’s paths had crossed and were cemented in smut seven years before the Jim’ll Fix presenter died aged 84 in 2011.
Brand called Savile live on air during a 2007 episode of his BBC Radio 2 show and told him it would be ‘’very nice one day” to meet him.
Two minds came as one as Savile replied he “doesn’t usually meet fellas, but if you’ve got a sister then that’s ok.’’
Brand’s misogynistic response was to offer to send his personal assistant naked to meet the as-yet-unmasked sex monster.
A year after his death, Savile was exposed as a prolific sexual predator.
It emerged that police and the CPS repeatedly failed to charge Savile despite multiple complaints over decades.
The resulting scandal gave victims courage to come forward and led to a spate of other celebrities being jailed for exploiting their fame to prey on victims.
Weinstein, now serving a 15-year jail sentence, was revealed as a predator in 2017, sparking the #MeToo movement.
Like those notorious sex offenders, Brand used his celebrity status to target girls and women while hiding in plain sight for years.
DI Nelson said of Brand: “His fame only seemed to encourage him and spur him on in terms of how he abused women and the level of offending.
“There is an arrogance about him. He just didn’t care in the end. He saw what he wanted and took it.”
Brand revelled in his reputation as a lothario and boasted that he wanted to bed 5,000 women.
DI Nelson said that because of Brand’s fame, “people chose to tolerate his behaviour rather than stand up to it”.
She said others linked to Brand had been identified “and looked at” during the investigation.
DI Nelson added: “We have not identified any offences that were linked to other people but that will continue to be under review.”
The detective went on: “I think that everybody who employed Brand – or worked with him – will think of this trial and maybe reflect on how they acted at the time.”
Brand was accused in the Dispatches programme, ‘Russell Brand: In Plain Sight,’ and The Sunday Times of sex offences against four women between 2006 and 2013.
None of the complainants featured in his trial and Brand has denied all allegations.
Three of the alleged incidents occurred in the US and were beyond British jurisdiction.
But their accounts gave other women the confidence to come forward to accuse Brand of sexually abusing them.
Today at Southwark Crown Court, a jury found Brand guilty of groping an MTV worker during a party at a Soho bar in 2004, but not guilty of going on to rape her in a toilet.
Brand, 51, was convicted of “sloppily” kissing and groping a Capital Radio worker after encountering her in a corridor in 2005.
He was found guilty of raping a 21-year-old fan at his Hampstead house after meeting her at a 2009 stand-up show at the Hammersmith Apollo.
Brand was also convicted by the jury of sexually assaulting a Channel 4 worker in 2009 when she had been forced to give him a massage.
The vile attacker was found not guilty by the jury of raping a woman he met at a cabaret show on the fringes of the 1999 Labour Party conference in Bournemouth.
He was also cleared of trying to drag an MTV worker into a toilet to indecently assault her in 2001.
DI Nelson described the victims’ questioning by Brand’s KC Ian Winter as “uncomfortably robust” at times.
She added of the victims: “They have been so strong.
“They knew it was going to be difficult but I think they have handled themselves really well.
“They have been fantastically resilient and as a team we feel really proud of what they have done.”
The Met set up a special hotline for other potential victims of Brand’s to come forward.
DI Nelson said: “I do believe there are more victims of Russell Brand.
‘’If those women wanted to come forward and make a report then I would encourage those women to contact the police.
‘’We will listen to you and treat you with dignity and we will guide you through the processes.’’
Unusually for the electronic age, the case against Brand was brought with statements from women and corroborated by witnesses.
Senior Crown Prosecutor David Roberts said: “Fundamentally our case was that Russell Brand was a manipulative predator who used these moments opportunistically to override consent.”
He also urged other potential victims to get in touch with police.
Mr Roberts said: “I think this trial has shown whether someone is a Hollywood star, we will prosecute them regardless of their position.”