A former priest of Church of England, who once led a “cult-like” church movement has been convicted of multiple sexual offences against women in his congregation.
Chris Brain, 68, the former leader of the Nine O’Clock Service, an evangelical group that rose to prominence in Sheffield during the 1980s and 1990s, was found guilty of 17 counts of indecent assault involving nine women.
A jury at Inner London Crown Court cleared him of 15 further charges, while deliberations continue over four more counts of indecent assault and a single rape charge.
Brain, dressed in a black suit and shirt, remained expressionless as the jury foreman delivered the verdicts.
Jurors are expected to return on Thursday to consider the outstanding allegations.
Prosecutor Tim Clark KC told the court that several victims were recruited into a so-called “homebase team” tasked with caring for Brain and his family.
The group, witnesses said, was mockingly dubbed the “Lycra lovelies” or “Lycra nuns” after Brain was seen at home surrounded by women in lingerie.
The women, Clark said, were expected to do domestic chores in the family home, and also to “put him to bed with sexual favours.”
Prosecutors alleged that some of the assaults took place during massages carried out by members of the team.
Brain claimed these were meant to ease “tensions” in his body, but could sometimes lead to consensual “sensual touching,” which he insisted was between friends and “no big deal.” He denied all the charges.
The Nine O’Clock Service began in 1986 and was initially embraced by Church of England leaders for its modern, nightclub-inspired style of worship that drew large numbers of young people.
Owing to its success, Brain’s ordination as a priest was accelerated in 1991. Jurors were told the group even spent “large sums of money” acquiring the robes worn by Robert De Niro in the film The Mission for him to wear during the ceremony.
By the early 1990s, the NOS had grown so large it relocated to Sheffield’s Ponds Forge leisure centre. But prosecutors argued that the movement ultimately “became a cult” in which Brain exploited his authority to abuse “a staggering number” of women.
The organisation collapsed in 1995 after concerns were raised about his behaviour. That same year, Brain admitted in a BBC documentary to “improper sexual conduct with a number of women.”
He resigned from the priesthood just two days before the programme was aired.
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