Russell Brand, the former British comedian, was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison for raping a woman and sexually assaulting three others, with convictions spanning 2004 to 2009, while he was acquitted of two rape counts. Judge Joel Bennathan called him a sexual predator who told a series of lies at trial, victims described lasting trauma, and London's Metropolitan Police said two further rape allegations against him remain under investigation though he has not been charged.