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Russell Brand was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on 9 November 2026 to 10 years and six months' imprisonment, after being convicted of rape and sexual assault. Within hours, the same questions were being asked everywhere: how long will he actually serve, what happens when he is released, and will he be on the sex offenders register?
This article does not comment on that case. It does not discuss the evidence, the verdicts, the people involved or anything said in court, and further allegations are reported to be with prosecutors, so nothing here should be read as a view on any of them. What the day is useful for is the question underneath the headlines, which applies to everyone sentenced for a serious sexual offence in England and Wales: what does a sentence like this actually mean in practice?
I have prosecuted and defended serious sexual offence cases. The answer is rarely the number read out in court. How long someone serves, the conditions they live under afterwards, and the notification requirements that follow them for years, often indefinitely, are decided by rules most people never see until they apply to them or to someone close to them.
In England and Wales, the sentence for rape is set by the judge applying the Sentencing Council's guideline for the offence. Rape carries a maximum of life imprisonment. The guideline asks the judge to place the offence in a category of harm and a category of culpability, which gives a starting point and a range, and then to adjust for aggravating and mitigating factors. The guideline ranges for rape run from 4 to 19 years before any adjustment.
Where someone is sentenced for more than one offence, the court decides whether the sentences run concurrently, at the same time, or consecutively, one after the other, and then stands back to check that the total is just and proportionate to the overall offending. That is why a single headline figure can be made up of separate terms for separate offences.
Offences committed many years before the trial are sentenced under the guidelines in force at the date of sentence, but the sentence cannot exceed the maximum that applied when the offence was committed. We explain how older allegations are investigated and defended in our guide to historic sexual offence allegations.
Most prison sentences in England and Wales are standard determinate sentences, and the prisoner is released automatically at a fixed point, then serves the rest on licence. Where that point falls depends on the offence and the length of the sentence.
For a sentence of seven years or more for a serious sexual or violent offence that carries life imprisonment, such as rape, section 244ZA of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 sets the release point later than for most offences. On 1 October 2026, the Sentencing Act 2026 moved that release point from two-thirds to one half for most of those sentences. Rape was excluded from that change, along with other serious sexual offences, so a person sentenced for rape is still released at two-thirds. We explain the change, and the 71 offences excluded from it, in our guide to the 1 October 2026 early release changes.
Where a sentence is made up of consecutive terms for different offences, each term's release point is worked out and combined, which is why the precise release date is a calculation for the prison rather than a figure announced in court. Reports of the sentence passed on 9 November say that at least seven years will be served in custody, which is two-thirds of 10 years and six months.
A different regime applies where the court finds the offender dangerous and passes an extended sentence or a life sentence. Release then depends on the Parole Board, which must be satisfied that detention is no longer necessary to protect the public.
Release is not the end of the sentence. The rest of the term is served on licence in the community, under the supervision of a probation officer from the Probation Service, with standard conditions and often additional ones: where the person may live, who they may contact, where they may not go, and how they use the internet. A person who breaches the conditions can be recalled to prison, in some cases for the rest of the sentence.
What is commonly called the sex offenders register is, in law, a set of notification requirements under Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. They apply automatically to a person convicted of a sexual offence listed in Schedule 3 to the Act, or cautioned for one, whether they pleaded guilty or were found guilty. There is no single public register: the information is held by the police and used to manage risk.
A person subject to the notification requirements becomes what is commonly called a registered sex offender. They must:
The details are held on ViSOR, the national violent and sex offender register used by police forces, probation and partner agencies. Police officers make home visits and carry out a risk assessment, and many people on the register are managed under multi-agency public protection arrangements. A person must remain subject to the registration requirements for the whole notification period. Breaching the notification requirements without reasonable excuse is a criminal offence, with a maximum penalty of up to five years' imprisonment.
No. There is no public access to the register in England and Wales. Under the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme, often called Sarah's Law, a parent, carer or guardian can ask the police whether a person with access to a child is a registered sex offender or has a record of sexual offences, and the police decide whether to disclose. The police can also share information with family members or others where that is needed to protect children or vulnerable adults.
The notification period is set by section 82 of the 2003 Act, and how long the notification requirements apply depends on the sentence imposed, counted from the date of conviction:
| Sentence or outcome | Notification period |
|---|---|
| Imprisonment for life, or for 30 months or more | Indefinite |
| Imprisonment for more than 6 months but less than 30 months | 10 years |
| Imprisonment for 6 months or less | 7 years |
| A caution | 2 years |
| A conditional discharge | The period of the discharge |
| Any other outcome, such as a community order | 5 years |
The fixed periods are halved for anyone under 18. The length of time does not depend on how long the person actually spent in custody, only on the sentence imposed.
Indefinite notification was originally for life, with no way off. In 2010 the Supreme Court held that a lifetime requirement with no possibility of review was incompatible with the right to respect for private life under the Human Rights Act (R (F) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2010] UKSC 17), and a review scheme followed. An adult subject to indefinite notification can now apply to the chief officer of police, in practice the chief constable's force, once 15 years have passed since their first notification after release. The police assess whether the risk of sexual harm still justifies the requirements continuing. If they decide it does, the person can apply again eight years later, and can appeal the decision to the magistrates' court.
The register is separate from a sexual harm prevention order, which a court can add on conviction and which prohibits specific conduct rather than requiring notification. We explain how those orders are made and challenged in our guide to sexual harm prevention orders. A conviction for a serious sexual offence also usually leads to inclusion on the DBS barred lists and, for regulated professionals, to action by their regulator.
A person convicted in the Crown Court can apply to the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal against conviction, sentence or both, normally within 28 days. On the other side, a sentence for a specified offence can be referred to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient, and anyone can ask the Attorney General to consider a referral within the time limit. We explain how that works in our guide to the unduly lenient sentence scheme.
A sentencing hearing is the last stage of a criminal case, and by then most of the decisions that shaped it were made long before. For anyone accused of a sexual offence, the outcome is shaped first by the police investigation, the interview under caution, and the charging decision, which is made by the Crown Prosecution Service on the evidence gathered in the months after an allegation is made. We explain how that decision is taken in our guide to how the CPS decides to charge, and where these cases are actually fought in our guide to consent and reasonable belief.
The consequences explained above, the release point, licence, notification requirements, barring and the end of many careers, are why the work done before charge matters so much. Written pre-charge representations put the evidence and the legal analysis to the decision-maker before a charge is brought.
We act privately for individuals across England and Wales facing allegations of sexual offences, including public figures and regulated professionals for whom an allegation brings media attention and regulatory consequences as well as a criminal investigation. When we are instructed:
No solicitor can promise an outcome, and we do not. What we can promise is that the case will be prepared from the first contact, not from the first hearing.
If you have been accused of a sexual offence, or invited to a police interview, speak to us before you say anything to the police.
Reports of the sentence passed on 9 November 2026 say he is expected to serve at least seven years in custody, two-thirds of the 10 years and six months imposed, with the rest on licence. The general rule is that a sentence of seven years or more for rape is served to the two-thirds point, because rape was excluded from the October 2026 early-release change.
Anyone sentenced to 30 months or more for a qualifying sexual offence, such as rape, is subject to notification requirements for an indefinite period under section 82 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, with a right to apply for review after 15 years.
It depends on the sentence: indefinitely for 30 months or more, 10 years for more than 6 and less than 30 months, 7 years for 6 months or less, 2 years for a caution, and 5 years for most other outcomes. The fixed periods are halved for anyone under 18.
Yes, in limited cases. A police caution for a qualifying sexual offence brings notification requirements for two years, and a court can make a notification order for an equivalent conviction abroad. A sexual risk order, which needs no conviction, does not on its own put a person on the register. We explain those orders in our guide to sexual risk orders.
Life imprisonment. The Sentencing Council guideline ranges run from 4 to 19 years, before adjustment for aggravating and mitigating factors.
Those on a fixed period come off when it ends. Those on the register indefinitely can apply for a review after 15 years, and the police decide whether the requirements should continue.
Lex Vindico Group is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. We represent individuals nationally across England and Wales in criminal, regulatory, and parallel-proceedings defence at every stage: our work starts at the pre-charge stage and continues through charge, trial and appeal.
This article is written by Akram Mula, LLM, Solicitor Advocate and CPS-approved Prosecutor, founder of Lex Vindico Group. It explains the law and procedure in England and Wales that applies after a sentence for a serious sexual offence. It does not comment on any individual case. It is general legal information, not legal advice on any specific case. For advice on your specific circumstances, contact our team directly.
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