Jurors in the trial of comedian Russell Brand at Southwark Crown Court have entered their second day of deliberations, tasked with answering 22 specific questions to determine guilt or innocence on charges of rape and sexual assault.
Brand, 51, denies three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault, and one allegation of attempted indecent assault, which allegedly occurred between 1999 and 2009. The judge, Mr. Justice Bennathan, has provided the jury with a list of questions to guide their decision-making process. He has emphasized that unanimous verdicts are required and that there is no time pressure on the jury to reach their conclusions.
Each count requires the jury to consider specific elements of the alleged offenses. For instance, on the first count, an alleged rape in a hotel room during the 1999 Labour party conference, the jury must first determine if the complainant did not consent to sex. If they are sure of this, they then proceed to question two, which asks if Brand knew the complainant was not consenting or was reckless to her lack of consent. A "yes" to this second question would lead to a guilty verdict on that count.
Similar detailed questioning is laid out for the remaining counts, including alleged attempted indecent assault at MTV offices in 2001, sexual assault and rape at a Soho bar, sexual assault at a radio station, rape at Brand's Hampstead townhouse in 2009, and sexual assault during filming for a Channel 4 project in 2009.
For allegations involving non-consensual sexual touching, the jury is asked to determine if the act was sexual and if the complainant did not consent. Crucially, for many counts, a subsequent question probes whether the defendant reasonably believed the complainant was consenting. A guilty verdict hinges on the jury being sure of a lack of consent and that the defendant did not reasonably believe consent was given.
The prosecution has stated that the accusers do not know each other. Brand, who testified during the trial, has maintained the allegations against him are untrue. The jury's task involves meticulously working through these 22 questions across the seven counts before they can return their verdicts.