Russell Brand transferred to Category C sex offender jail in secret 90-mile move
Brand was quietly moved from HMP Wandsworth to HMP Littlehey in Cambridgeshire days after his 10-year sentence. An ex-prison governor called the transfer "flabbergasting".
Brand moved to Category C prison days after sentencing
Russell Brand was transferred to HMP Littlehey, a Category C prison in Cambridgeshire, just days after being sentenced to ten years and six months at Southwark Crown Court, the Daily Express reports. The 51-year-old, convicted of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, was driven the 90 miles from HMP Wandsworth in South West London on Friday 13 November in a Serco prison van — self-contained in a small internal cell to prevent anyone from seeing inside.
The move came despite Brand having previously been assessed for the high-security Category A HMP Wakefield, known as Monster Mansion, which holds some of the UK's most dangerous criminals. At Wandsworth, Brand had been held in a solitary "punishment block" to protect him from potential attacks by other inmates.
According to The Sun, Brand arrived at HMP Littlehey flanked by ten guards and was escorted directly to cell 103 on E Wing — a single-person cell where new prisoners typically spend their first weeks. On his first night, he reportedly asked staff for extra blankets.
HMP Littlehey houses only male sex offenders. Its facilities include two gyms, two sports halls, an indoor bowls facility, football pitches, yoga and origami classes, and a choir. The prison has an operational capacity of approximately 1,200 inmates.
'I'd have thought Category B would have been more appropriate'
Former prison governor Vanessa Frake said she was taken aback by the placement. "I am absolutely flabbergasted that he is in a Category C prison," she said. "He has no previous convictions, but he has got a substantial sentence — and there's possibly more in the pipeline. His high public profile and nature of the convictions, and his vulnerability to attacks will all have been encompassed in his risk assessment. But I am surprised they have downgraded him to a Category C already. I'd have thought Category B would have been more appropriate."
Mick Neville, a former Metropolitan Police detective, said members of the public would view HMP Littlehey as the "soft option" for Brand, adding that prison authorities would have considered it a "real risk" to place him at Monster Mansion.
Further allegations under investigation
Brand's convictions relate to attacks on four women between 2004 and 2009. Since the conclusion of his trial, six additional women have come forward accusing him of sexual misconduct and predatory behaviour — allegations that could not legally be reported while proceedings were ongoing.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed they are actively investigating two separate additional rape allegations against Brand. One of those involves an allegation of rape received in January this year.
Source: Daily Express