Former priest Christopher Brain, who used a “culture of fear” to sexually abuse women while leading the Christian movement the Nine O’Clock Service (NOS), has been found guilty of rape and four indecent assaults. The 69-year-old was the leader of the Sheffield-based evangelical movement, part of the Church of England, between 1986 and 1995.
Guilty verdicts and total convictions
On Friday, a jury at Inner London Crown Court found Brain guilty of one count of rape and four charges of sexual assault. This follows his conviction last August for 17 counts of indecent assault against nine women. The verdicts mean Brain has now been convicted of a total of 22 sexual offences against 13 women.
Brain shook his head slightly and exhaled when the guilty verdict on the rape charge was delivered. He will be remanded in custody to be sentenced at a later date. Judge Freya Newbury said victims would be given the chance to deliver impact statements at a sentencing hearing which is likely to take two days.
Background of the Nine O’Clock Service
The Nine O’Clock Service was founded by Brain at St Thomas’s Church in the Crookes area of Sheffield, before moving to the Ponds Forge area in the city centre. It took its name from the routine of evangelical services at 9pm on Sunday, complete with live music and nightclub-style light shows. NOS attracted a congregation largely of university students and young adults, and boasted a membership at its height of about 500 people.
The court heard that when Brain was ordained as a priest in 1991, he was noted to have a “grandiose self-regard” as he insisted on large sums of money being spent so that he could wear robes for the ceremony that had been worn by actor Robert De Niro in the movie The Mission.
Prosecution and abuse allegations
Prosecutor Tim Clark KC said NOS “presented itself to the outside world as a progressive force for good”. He told the court: “In truth NOS became a closed and controlled group which the defendant dominated. He abused his position first as a leader and then as an ordained priest to sexually assault a staggering number of women from his congregation.”
The court heard Brain exerted control over the lives of the women, ostracising them from friends and family, taking away control of their finances, and convincing them to compete for his affections. A “homebase team” was set up to “care for” Brain – referred to as “the Lycra Lovelies” or “the Lycra Nuns” – and witnesses reported seeing the defendant surrounded by attractive women in lingerie at his home, looking after his needs. The court heard how Brain groomed the women, touched them during massages, and persuaded them into sexual acts when putting him to bed.
Retrial and evidence
Brain, who quit as a priest when allegations about his conduct were first raised in 1995, admitted to sexual activity with his followers, but claimed it was all consensual. TV programmes were made and books written about NOS after some allegations were made in 1995 about Brain’s alleged abuse of position, the court heard previously. In an Everyman Special broadcast by BBC One in November 1995, Brain admitted sexual activity with women members of NOS but denied that it was abuse and said it was for “closeness and affection”.
In the retrial, the court heard how Brain had lured one of the women to his home, plied her with whisky, then raped her in an attic bedroom. A second woman, who was part of the “homebase” team, said she was chided if her clothing was not provocative enough, she recalls frequent incidents of standing naked in front of a fully-clothed Brain, and described him as a “Jekyll and Hyde character”. Victims of Brain whose allegations were proved in the first trial gave evidence again as he faced a retrial.
