Years after a public reckoning that many expected to close a chapter, a woman who had been known only as Alice has chosen to reveal her name and speak about what she says happened when she was sixteen. Her story, now placed alongside a criminal sentence handed to the comedian Russell Brand, turns a single courtroom outcome into a wider question about how society protects the young from adults who hold power over them. Mia Latter has stepped out of anonymity not to seek a verdict of her own but to argue that the law should draw a firmer line, one that asks for accountability from older adults w
Alleged Brand rape complainant calls for staggered age of consent law
A woman alleges she was raped and sexually abused by Russell Brand when she was 16, and says the police investigation into her allegation has caused distress through delay.
Known only as "Alice" for three years, she has now given her name.
Mark
Why does this interview matter now, given the trial is over?
Mimi
Because none of the six women from the 2023 investigation were complainants at trial. Latter is putting a name and a policy proposal to an account that until now sat under a pseudonym.
Luke
Worth being clear: her allegation of rape is just that, an allegation. Brand denied the 2023 claims, and this one was not part of the trial.
Mark
She first called it sexual assault, and now calls it rape. How should we read that?
Mimi
The Sunday Times reported the shift openly. It's a detail the paper itself put on the record.
Luke
And the reporting can't tell us why her description changed, so we shouldn't fill that in.
Mark
What exactly is she asking for?
Mimi
A staggered age of consent that bars adults from relationships with 16- and 17-year-olds, while not criminalising teenagers with each other.
Luke
That's her proposal, not a government plan. The story doesn't say any lawmaker has taken it up.
Mark
And the police side?
Mimi
The Met opened an investigation in January 2026, still ongoing, and acknowledged the delay has been distressing for her.
Luke
Yet she says she won't continue the criminal process, so what that means for the investigation is unclear from this reporting.
O Pulso
- A woman who spent three years as an anonymous voice has stepped into the open, naming herself and reigniting a debate that many thought had been settled.
- Brand's sentence of ten and a half years sits beside acquittals on other counts, leaving the public record divided and the case's edges still raw.
- Latter was never part of the criminal trial, and the decision to leave her out has become a point of friction between the police, the CPS and the complainant.
- The Metropolitan Police's new rape inquiry continues, yet Latter has said she will step away from the criminal process to pour her energy into a campaign for a staggered age of consent.
Years after a public reckoning that many expected to close a chapter, a woman who had been known only as Alice has chosen to reveal her name and speak about what she says happened when she was sixteen. Her story, now placed alongside a criminal sentence handed to the comedian Russell Brand, turns a single courtroom outcome into a wider question about how society protects the young from adults who hold power over them. Mia Latter has stepped out of anonymity not to seek a verdict of her own but to argue that the law should draw a firmer line, one that asks for accountability from older adults while leaving teenagers free from criminalisation for their own relationships.
A woman once known only as "Alice" has now given her full name. Mia Latter, 37, has waived her anonymity in an interview with the Sunday Times, saying she was sixteen when she met Russell Brand, who was then thirty, and that she wants the law on the age of consent changed.
Latter was one of six women who made allegations against Brand in a 2023 joint investigation by The Times, the Sunday Times and Channel 4's Dispatches. Brand denied them at the time. None of the six were complainants in his recent criminal trial, where he was sentenced to ten and a half years for one count of rape and three of sexual assault, and acquitted on two rape counts and one attempted indecent assault.
Latter describes meeting Brand on her way home from a shopping trip, and says he told her to keep the relationship from her school friends and called her "the child" in front of his entourage. She says the age gap and the imbalance of power were what struck people about her story in 2023. She now describes an incident near the end of the relationship as rape, having first described it to reporters as sexual assault.
Her campaign calls for a "staggered" age of consent, under which adults in their thirties and beyond who pursue relationships with 16- and 17-year-olds would face criminal liability. She is clear that teenagers should not be criminalised for relationships with one another.
Latter says the CPS chose not to include her in the trial, though police had wanted her part of a later case. She has said she will not continue the criminal process so she can focus on the campaign. The Metropolitan Police opened an investigation into a fresh rape allegation in January 2026, sought CPS advice, and were told more information was needed. The force says the inquiry is ongoing and acknowledges the delay has been distressing.
A woman who was known publicly for three years only as "Alice" has now given her name. Mia Latter, 37, has waived her anonymity in an interview with the Sunday Times, saying she was 16 when she met Russell Brand and that she wants the law on the age of consent changed.
Latter was one of six women who made allegations against Brand in 2023, in a joint investigation by The Times, the Sunday Times and Channel 4's Dispatches. Brand denied the allegations at the time. None of those six women were complainants in his recent criminal trial. On Monday he was sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison for one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. He was acquitted of two counts of rape and of one allegation of attempted indecent assault.
Latter says she met Brand, then 30, when she was on her way home from a shopping trip. She says he was working at MTV. She told the paper she believes people were struck by her story in 2023 because of the age gap and the clear imbalance of power between them. She says Brand told her to keep the relationship secret from her school friends, and claims he referred to her as "the child" in front of his entourage.
According to the Sunday Times, it was towards the end of the relationship that Latter was allegedly orally raped by Brand. The paper reported that she had first described the incident to its reporters as a sexual assault, and that is how it was presented in the 2023 investigation. Latter, the paper said, now calls it rape.
Her campaign is for a "staggered" age of consent, under which relationships between adults and 16- or 17-year-olds would be prohibited. She was explicit that she does not want teenagers criminalised for each other. Between the ages of 16 and 18, she said, it seems reasonable that young people can have relationships with one another, and they will always do so. But she argued that if someone is in their thirties, forties or fifties and pursues a relationship with someone under 18, it should be a criminal offence.
Latter told the paper that the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to include her in Brand's criminal trial, though police wanted her to be part of a "subsequent trial". She also said she would not continue with the criminal process, so that she can concentrate on her campaign.
The Metropolitan Police said officers opened an investigation in January 2026 after receiving an allegation of rape. Detectives sought advice from the CPS on how to proceed and were told further information was needed before a charging decision could be made. The force said the investigation remains ongoing and that it understands the delay has been distressing for this victim-survivor, adding that its focus has been on putting forward the best possible evidence. A CPS spokesperson said it would continue to work closely with investigators to provide advice and ensure cases progress as quickly as possible.
The police inquiry stays open, while Latter has said she is stepping away from the criminal process to push for a change in the law.
Citações Notáveis
I don't want to criminalise teenagers having sex with each other.— Mia Latter, to the Sunday Times
The Met said it understands the delay has been distressing for this victim-survivor but its focus has been on putting forward the best possible evidence.— Met Police spokesperson
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