Russell Brand rape accuser reveals identity for first time, details alleged abuse at age 16

Mia Latter has gone public with allegations that Russell Brand raped her during a three-month relationship that began when she was 16 and he was 30, working at MTV. She says they met in Leicester Square, that he pursued her after she disclosed her age, and that he referred to her as "the child" in front of his entourage. Latter, previously identified only as "Alice" in the 2023 Sunday Times, Times and Channel 4 Dispatches investigation, told The Times that Brand instructed her to keep the relationship secret, her school attendance dropped to 30 percent, and she was diagnosed with depression. She alleges that toward the end of the relationship he forced her against a headboard and orally raped her while she was choking and crying, and that she had to hit him to stop him.

The Metropolitan Police opened an investigation in January 2026 after receiving her allegation. Detectives sought Crown Prosecution Service advice and were told further information was needed before a charging decision; the force says the investigation remains ongoing. Latter decided not to continue with the criminal process but is waiving anonymity to campaign for a "staggered" age of consent that would criminalise relationships between adults in their thirties, forties or fifties and 16- or 17-year-olds, while preserving peer relationships among teenagers.

Brand, 51, was convicted on Monday of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault against four women between 2004 and 2009, following a three-week trial at Southwark Crown Court. He was acquitted of two rape counts and one attempted indecent assault. He received a 10½-year sentence with seven years to serve in custody and is currently at HMP Wandsworth, expected to move to HMP Wakefield. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley confirmed on Friday that police are investigating two new rape complaints against Brand, and Det Supt Andy Furphy said he expects more women to come forward. The Met's Operation Actinolite has taken more than 340 witness statements since allegations first emerged in September 2023.

Latter's decision to speak publicly adds a new dimension to a case already notable for its scale and the police's explicit anticipation of further complaints. Her proposed legal reform targets the power imbalance she describes, but the ongoing police investigation into her own allegation has not yet reached a charging decision, leaving the criminal outcome uncertain.