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Criminal lawyer reveals how much shorter Russell Brand’s sentence could have been if he’d pleaded guilty
A London criminal lawyer has revealed that Russell Brand’s prison sentence of 10 years would have been even shorter had he pleaded guilty to the crimes he was convicted of.
Lesley Hayes, a criminal lawyer for over 30 years, has offered her view after the now-disgraced comedian was found guilty of three counts of sexual assault and one count of rape, and consequently handed a lengthy prison term.
Criminal lawyer reveals the length of Brand's sentence had he pleaded guilty
Speaking exclusively to VT, Hayes revealed: “Rape is by far the most serious of the offences that Brand has been convicted of and the sentencing guidelines for this dictate a sentence of four to 19 years.”
Hayes, who has dealt with numerous rape and sexual assault cases during her time in the profession, confirmed that sentence length can vary considerably due to mitigating and aggravating circumstances.
“Where any case falls within that range is determined by the judge’s assessment of culpability and harm - all cases are judged on their own facts so there can be considerable variation in the length of sentences,” she added.
Despite his renown, as well as public scrutiny, Hayes discussed why the sentence he received is both reasonable and standard in the UK.
“The 10 and a half year sentence handed out to Brand for all four offences is no more than could be reasonably expected in all the circumstances. Had he pleaded guilty rather than taking this to trial and putting the victims through that additional ordeal, his sentence would have been considerably less,” she admitted.
Hayes also revealed a rough estimate for how long Brand would have been given had he admitted to the charges.
“The standard rule is such that a guilty plea entitles the defendant to a third off their sentence, so in Brand’s instance, he’d have received an estimated seven years.”
Lawyer reveals when he will likely be released
Brand, who is currently 51 years old, will likely serve two-thirds of his 10 years and six-month sentence, meaning he will be 57 by the time he is released.
“He will be released on licence after two thirds of his sentence has been served inside and will be subject to stringent conditions on his release,” Hayes confirmed.
Discussing the aggravating factors of the case, Hayes explained how there were several aspects that would have contributed to the Judge's sentencing.
Hayes said: “Reference was made by the judge about his ‘staggering arrogance’ and the abuse of trust, which are both aggravating factors
“Contextual aggravating factors like the rape victim being forced to clean the bedding afterwards, will have undoubtedly had a significant impact on the length of sentence.”