Alleged victim of Russell Brand calls for staggered age-of-consent law
Mia Latter, who says she was 16 when she met Russell Brand, has waived anonymity and is urging a law that would bar adults from relationships with 16- and 17-year-olds.
Mia Latter, one of six women who accused Russell Brand of sexual offences in 2023, has waived her right to anonymity and is campaigning for a "staggered" age-of-consent law. Latter told the Sunday Times that she was 16 when she met the entertainer, who was 30 and working at MTV, and that he asked her to keep the relationship secret from her school friends.
Brand was sentenced on Monday to 10½ years for one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, while being acquitted of two other rape charges and an attempted indecent assault charge.
Latter said she wants legislation that would prohibit adults from entering relationships with 16- and 17-year-olds while allowing teenagers to date each other. > "I don't want to criminalise teenagers having sex with each other. If you're between the ages of 16 and 18, it seems reasonable that you can have relationships with each other, and [teenagers] are always going to. But … if you're in your thirties, forties and fifties and you're trying to have a relationship with someone under the age of 18, it [should be] a criminal offence," she told the paper.
She added that the Crown Prosecution Service advised detectives that more information was needed before a charging decision could be made, and that she was not included as a witness in Brand's criminal trial, although police had wanted her to appear in a subsequent proceeding.