Detectives investigating disgraced comedian Russell Brand have received a string of fresh allegations after he was found guilty of rape and sexual assaults.
The force has confirmed officers are assessing information from “several people” who came forward either during the star’s four-week trial or since he was convicted last week.
The 51-year-old was on Monday jailed for 10-and-a-half years for raping a fan and sexually assaulting three women at the height of his showbusiness career from 2004 to 2009.
“Several people have contacted the investigation team during and since the trial to provide information or report a potential criminal allegation,” a Met spokesperson said. “Detectives are assessing this information as part of their ongoing enquiries.”
The fresh reports are on top of two further rape allegations, including against a 16-year-old schoolgirl, which are currently being reviewed by the Crown Prosecution Service. A charging decision could be announced within weeks, according to reports.
His ex-partner Jemima Goldsmith also accused Brand of “violence, coercive control and abuse” against her when they dated around 2014, in a social media post last night.
Detective superintendent Andy Furphy, who led a three-year probe into the former Hollywood actor, previously warned that his investigation remains ongoing and there is a “distinct possibility” more women will come forward in light of his conviction.
He has repeatedly encouraged any survivors of rape and sexual abuse to contact his team.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Tuesday, Det Supt Furphy said that officers were in the “process of triaging” the fresh reports and were “looking at exactly what we’ve got, whether they’re information that points to behaviour or whether they could constitute a criminal offence, so our work isn’t done.”
Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley also previously said he would not be surprised if “many more” accusers came forward following the high-profile trial.
Brand stared straight ahead, blinking in disbelief, as he was told he would serve at least two-thirds of his sentence in jail, at Southwark Crown Court yesterday by Mr Justice Bennathan, who accused the star of showing a “casual, arrogant disregard for any woman’s right to say no”.
Brand’s wellness company is trying to cash in on his incarceration by selling “free Russell” T-shirts.
Reborn, the comedian’s US-based alternative healthcare business, is advertising the $34.99 (£26) T-shirts emblazoned with the comic’s face on its website, which reads: “Stand with Russell against injustice. Silenced for speaking out.”
A message from Brand on the Reborn website, which also sells products including methylene blue tincture and adaptogenic mushroom super coffee, boasts that the firm is “my answer to a world that wants you sick, numb, and quiet”.
“They’ve tried to shut me up, shut me down, and squeeze me off every platform – but this is where we fight back,” the message adds. “Every bottle is about spiritual and physical resilience, and it’s your direct way to stand with me and keep this mission alive.”
In recent years, the Essex-born comic and born-again Christian moved to Florida’s Gulf coast and has used his social media channels to espouse anti-establishment rhetoric and conspiracy theories.
The comedian was last week found guilty of anally raping a 21-year-old fan and sexually assaulting three women, following a dramatic four-week trial. He was acquitted of two further rapes and one charge of attempted indecent assault.
Brand was performing at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2009 when he selected his rape victim from the crowd to join him backstage, where they had a consensual threesome in his dressing room.
Brand was found guilty after she told the jury he ignored her desperate pleas for him to stop after he took the condom off and anally raped her during a second encounter at his home, leaving her hurt, bleeding and fearing she had contracted HIV.
Afterwards, he scolded her, telling her she was “disgusting” and saying “look what you have done to my f***ing sheets”, the trial heard.
She told the sentencing hearing on Monday she still struggles with the trauma, adding: “Even now, I feel I am living with the trauma of what happened. It is something I carry with me every day, and it often feels never-ending.”
The sentencing judge criticised his “staggering arrogance”, adding that he used his fame to act “how you liked, when you liked”.
