A woman has publicly accused Russell Brand of raping her when she was a 16-year-old schoolgirl, and has revealed her identity to campaign for a change in the law she hopes will protect teenagers from grooming. Mia Latter, now 37, said she has decided not to continue with the criminal process, but the Metropolitan Police said its investigation into the alleged rape remains ongoing.
Ms Latter, previously referred to under the pseudonym Alice in reporting by The Sunday Times, The Times and a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary, told the Sunday Times she was 16 when she first met Brand in Leicester Square, London, while on her way home from a shopping trip. He took her number, later messaged her and asked her to dinner. She said Brand, then 30 and working at MTV, still asked her to meet after she told him her age.
Brand, now serving a 10-and-a-half-year prison sentence for one count of rape and three sexual assaults, was convicted of attacks against four of the six women who gave evidence against him. Ms Latter’s allegation was not included in that trial. She told the newspaper the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided not to include her case, and that she was told it “didn’t want it to become ‘the Alice show’”.
Ms Latter alleges Brand orally raped her towards the end of their three-month relationship. She said Brand told her to keep the relationship secret from her school friends, but his entourage knew, with the convicted rapist referring to her as “the child” in front of them.
Speaking about her decision not to continue with the criminal process, she said: “I just don’t know what capacity I have to give years more of my life to this, for my head to be occupied with these awful crimes.” She is now calling for a staggered age of consent that would make relationships between adults and teenagers aged 16 and 17 illegal.
A Met Police spokesperson said: “Officers launched an investigation in January 2026 after receiving an allegation of rape. Detectives sought advice from the Crown Prosecution Service to determine how best to proceed, and officers were advised that further information was needed before a charging decision could be made. This investigation remains ongoing.”
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Mia Latter’s decision to go public may reignite debate over the UK age of consent, which currently allows sex at 16 for all relationships.
- Her campaign for a staggered age of consent could influence future policy, particularly around grooming and power imbalances involving celebrities.
- The ongoing Met Police investigation means further charges against Brand remain possible, even as he serves his current sentence.
Background
Russell Brand, 51, was convicted in November 2026 of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault against four women, and was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison. The attacks occurred between 2006 and 2013. Ms Latter’s allegation, relating to a period around 2004–2005, was not part of that trial. In earlier media interviews, Brand acknowledged having sex with a 16-year-old when he was 30, describing himself as an “immature 30-year-old” and saying the relationship involved exploitation.
Key Perspectives
Mia Latter: Is campaigning for a staggered age of consent, arguing that “adults shouldn’t be allowed to have sexual relationships with children, with somebody under the age of 18”. She said she is happy the police secured justice for other women but feels the criminal process is “criminalising”.
Metropolitan Police: Confirms an investigation was launched in January 2026 and remains ongoing; a spokesperson said “the delay has been distressing for this victim-survivor” but stressed the force’s focus is on “putting forward the best possible evidence”.
What to Watch
- Whether the CPS decides to charge Brand over this allegation, and how that affects his ongoing imprisonment.
- Any parliamentary or public response to Ms Latter’s campaign for a staggered age of consent.
- The outcome of the Met Police investigation and whether it leads to a second trial.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 11 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedA woman publicly accused Russell Brand of raping her when she was 16, revealed her identity and is campaigning for a law change.The Independent UK: “A woman has revealed her identity to publicly claim she was raped by Russell Brand as a 16-year-old girl.”
- SupportedThe Metropolitan Police said its investigation into the alleged rape remains ongoing, although Latter has decided not to continue with the criminal process.The Independent UK: “while Ms Latter has said in an interview she has decided not to continue with the criminal process, the force has said the investigation into the alleged rape remains ongoing.”
- SupportedLatter is now 37 and has waived anonymity to campaign for a staggered age of consent that would make relationships between adults and 16- and 17-year-olds illegal.The Independent UK: “Mia Latter, now 37”
- SupportedLatter said: “I just don’t know what capacity I have to give years more of my life to this, for my head to be occupied with these awful crimes.”The Independent UK: ““I just don’t know what capacity I have to give years more of my life to this, for my head to be occupied with these awful crimes.””
- SupportedLatter said Brand referred to her as “the child” in front of his entourage.The Independent UK: “Ms Latter said Brand told her to keep their relationship secret from her school friends, but his entourage knew, with the convicted rapist referring to her as “the child” in front of them.”
- Partly supportedLatter was told the CPS did not want her case included because it “didn’t want it to become ‘the Alice show’”.The Independent UK: “the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided not to include her case Brand’s trial at Southwark Crown Court. She said: “They [the police] wanted me to be part of a subsequent trial, but they said that the decision was made [not to include her in the first trial] after he had done the Megyn Kelly and the Piers Morgan interviews… I was told that I wasn’t actually going to make it to the October trial because… they didn’t want it to become ‘the Alice show’””
- SupportedLatter said she was 16 when she met Brand, who was 30 and still asked her to meet after she told him her age.The Independent UK: “She told the newspaper that Brand – who was working at MTV at the time – still asked her to meet after she had confessed her age to him.”
- SupportedLatter alleges Brand orally raped her towards the end of their three-month relationship.The Independent UK: “Ms Latter alleges Brand orally raped her towards the end of their three-month relationship.”
- SupportedBrand is serving a 10-and-a-half-year sentence for one count of rape and three sexual assaults.The Independent UK: “he is now serving a 10-and-a-half-year prison term for one count of rape and three sexual assaults.”
- SupportedBrand was convicted of attacks against four of the six women who gave evidence against him.The Independent UK: “Brand was convicted of attacks against four of the six women who gave evidence against him”
- SupportedLatter’s allegation was not included in Brand’s trial, and she told the newspaper the CPS decided not to include her case.The Independent UK: “According to the newspaper, Ms Latter spoke to the police after the documentary, but the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided not to include her case Brand’s trial at Southwark Crown Court.”
- SupportedThe Met spokesperson said officers began investigating in January 2026, needed further information before a charging decision, and the investigation remains ongoing.The Independent UK: “Officers launched an investigation in January 2026 after receiving an allegation of rape. “Detectives sought advice from the Crown Prosecution Service to determine how best to proceed, and officers were advised that further information was needed before a charging decision could be made. “This investigation remains ongoing.”