RUSSELL BRAND FOUND GUILTY: Here’s a balanced breakdown of the verdict and what happens next
Russell Brand has been convicted of rape and three sexual assaults, and cleared of two rapes and an attempted indecent assault.
5 November 2026
presumption of innocence
36 stories
The Framing of Rusty Rockets
The rules says the first account in a sexual assault investigation must be given to the police. Channel 4 and The Times didn’t agree, in this particular case.
1 November 2026
BRANDED: Russell’s trial so far, and how tabloids undermine the presumption of innocence
Russell Brand’s trial continues. Here’s everything we know so far.
30 October 2026
Did the judge overstep in the Russell Brand trial?
A judge interrupted cross-examination to correct defence counsel, and said “shush, I’m the judge”. Three American lawyers call it error. English procedure may not agree.
27 October 2026
Former St. Catherine of Alexandria Priest Cleared Of Child Sex Abuse Allegation
Cardinal Blase Cupich sends letters informing parishes that a child sex abuse allegation against Fr. Kenneth Fleck is deemed "unfounded."
25 October 2026
Jonathan Kay on the campaign against Steven Galloway
A UBC creative writing chair was fired over allegations a retired judge found unsubstantiated. Jonathan Kay on the CanLit mobbing, as Galloway's libel trial runs.
20 October 2026
Believe women? No – believe evidence
The point in the Cornell case is not that women lie; most do not. But every accusation is a claim, and claims must be tested, argues Jay Beecher.
16 October 2026
Bone Valley, The Prosecutors and the case of Leo Schofield
Two former federal prosecutors set out to debunk an innocence claim and concluded the opposite. Gilbert King, Leo Schofield and The Prosecutors, in conversation.
16 October 2026
How 'Jane Doe' May Revive Guilty Until Proven Innocent
A Cornell alumnus argues that the rush to judgment over the 'Jane Doe' allegations against seven Chi Phi members abandons the presumption of innocence, and that mothers of young men are watching with alarm.
15 October 2026
The Overlooked Role Barack Obama Played in False Allegations Against Men
How the Obama administration's 2011 Dear Colleague letter and 2014 White House report lowered the standard of proof in campus sexual-assault cases, and how Title IX rules have shifted since.
13 October 2026
Cornell and Feminism’s New Normal
Janice Fiamengo argues that the furore over the Cornell Chi Phi allegation shows how few people in authority will now defend the presumption of innocence and due process for accused young men.
12 October 2026
Glenn Greenwald on the Cornell case and online mob justice
Seven Cornell students named as gang rapists in a civil suit, with no charges brought. Glenn Greenwald on due process, the accuser's own 2024 statement, and mob justice.
30 September 2026
Justice reforms in the UK and Australia: will the accused still get a fair trial?
New rape courtrooms in England and Wales and pre-recorded evidence in NSW are sold as easing delays and stress for complainants. What about a fair trial for the accused?
25 September 2026
Remember: You might be wrong
A Montana lawyer from a family of prosecutors argues that mistaken eyewitness testimony and pressure on doubting jurors send innocent people to prison — and that those who doubt deserve respect.
22 September 2026
Margaret Gardener on the psychological impact of false accusations
Ros Burnett called it the lowest circle of hell. The director of FASO on what a false allegation of sexual abuse does to the accused and their family.
21 September 2026
With sex abuse allegations, some priests wonder: Will I be presumed innocent until proven guilty?
When a priest is accused of sex abuse, should they be removed before an investigation is complete?
10 September 2026
Row over Met guide to 'inappropriate' terms
A 14-page Met document lists dozens of 'inappropriate terms' officers must avoid in reports sent to senior officers and CPS lawyers, and legal experts warn it tells police to abandon neutrality in records that later reach a courtroom.
6 September 2026
September 9th Is International Falsely Accused Day
Wendy McElroy on International Falsely Accused Day, marked each 9 September on Simon Warr's birthday, and why the safeguards of Western jurisprudence exist precisely because accusers sometimes lie.
5 September 2026
Cardinal Ouellet wins case against woman who accused him of abuse
The Superior Court of Quebec has found that Cardinal Marc Ouellet was falsely accused of sexual assault, awarding him $100,000 in damages against his accuser — money he says he will donate to organisations fighting the abuse of Indigenous peoples in Canada.
1 September 2026
Ex-Sale star whose career was ruined by woman's lies rebuilds life as pilot
Marland Yarde, who played for Sale Sharks, saw his life ruined by a woman's false accusations
29 August 2026
Wrongly convicted
Are Australia’s rape reforms jailing innocent men? NSW costs certificates in sexual assault cases leapt from 28% to 67% in three years — and the men who paid.
5 August 2026
Institutional Cowardice: Grooming Gangs and False Allegations
Patrick O'Loan draws a parallel between the grooming gang scandal and the handling of false allegations: in both, institutions feared activist backlash more than injustice.
27 May 2026
Hockey Canada trial showed criminal court is the ultimate reality check
Allegations are one thing. The truth is another. Rushing to judgment before a trial can bridge that gap and it is wrong, reporter Jane Sims argues.
5 August 2025
What if the police and prosecution were told to ‘believe all victims of false allegations’?
A Bristol criminologist inverts the instruction: if police and prosecutors had to believe every claimed victim of a false allegation, would they accept it?
22 January 2024
Sexual abuse – or justice abused? A priest’s tale
Fr Gordon MacRae's own account of the New Hampshire investigation, the plea deals he refused and the 1994 trial that left him serving 33½ to 67 years.
8 January 2024
McMaster’s Imaginary Sex Ring
In 2020, a Canadian university tore up its psychology department in search of a non-existent network of sexual predators. Documents obtained by Quillette reveal how administrators allowed it to happen.
14 June 2023
The Stanford Rape Hoax
Jennifer Gries used claims of rape to punish a co-worker. Activists at Stanford used her lies for their own purposes.
3 April 2023
Unproven Sexual Assault Allegations: Creating Celebrities While Destroying Lives
How unproven sexual assault allegations can create celebrities out of accusers while destroying the lives of the accused.
10 January 2023
Police ‘should not automatically believe abuse victims’ to avoid another ‘Nick’ scandal
Head of college of policing said force had ‘overreacted’ to criticism of the handling of historic sexual abuse
15 October 2022
Sir Cliff Richard: Singer feared dying of heart attack after facing child sex assault claims
The singer, who was never arrested or found guilty and strongly denied the claims, was publicly named in a child sex allegation after a police raid on his home in 2014. He is now campaigning for a change in the law so that suspects are only named once they have been charged.
8 June 2022
The jury verdict in the Depp-Heard case: A telling, deserved blow to the #MeToo witch-hunt
A Fairfax County jury found for Johnny Depp against Amber Heard — a significant defeat for the #MeToo witch-hunt and a victory for the presumption of innocence and due process.
3 June 2022
Robert Buckland: Suspected sex offenders should be granted anonymity to protect reputations
The former Justice Secretary says the move would prevent innocent people from having their lives ‘trampled over’
29 May 2022
Actor Johnny Depp’s testimony exposes unsubstantiated #MeToo allegations by Amber Heard
Four days into Johnny Depp’s defamation trial against Amber Heard, his testimony paints a very different picture from the #MeToo allegations that damaged his acting career.
23 April 2022
The use of ‘recovered memory’ in this alarming Aussie sex scandal reveals its ruinous nature, & the weakness of liberal democracy
The Australian government may fall because of unproven and extremely dodgy 30-year-old rape allegations against a cabinet minister – the unchecked power of the #MeToo movement and its woke media allies is destroying our society.
9 March 2021
The New York Times gloats over the destruction of “the Monster” Weinstein
Weinstein’s conviction has established the “breakthrough” principle that a criminal conviction can be secured without reliable and verifiable evidence. The working class and poor will suffer the consequences.
26 February 2020
Yewtree: more propaganda than police investigation
The failure of a few prosecutions won't stop the crusade.
19 February 2014