A former Church of England priest who led an influential evangelical movement in Sheffield has been found guilty of sexually assaulting nine women from his congregation.
Chris Brain, the 68-year-old founding father of the Nine O’Clock Service (NOS), was convicted on Wednesday of 17 counts of indecent assault following a trial on the Inner London Crown Court.
He was cleared of an extra 15 charges of indecent assault. Another 4 counts of indecent assault and one count of rape are still being deliberated by the jury.
NOS was founded by Brain in 1986 with the aim of appealing to young people. It blended live music and multimedia, and attracted a whole lot of young people in its heyday throughout the late 80s and early 90s. It was eventually wound down in 1995 amid allegations of sexual abuse.
During the trial, the court heard claims that Brain misused his position to prey on vulnerable women within the congregation.
One woman claimed she had been assaulted by Brain after getting back from a traumatic night spent helping families to discover victims of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.
Prosecutors alleged throughout the trial that NOS had grow to be a “cult” and that “a staggering number” of ladies from the congregation were targeted.
Brain denied all the allegations, telling the court that any sexual encounters with women within the NOS movement were consensual.
He also denied claims that he had manipulated or bullied church members, describing NOS as “a free, open, really caring, very fun environment”.
Responding to Wednesday’s verdict, the Diocese of Sheffield said: “The jury at Inner London Crown Court today returned verdicts on 32 of the 37 charges against Chris Brain comprising of guilty and never guilty outcomes in respect of the indecent assault charges.
“As the remaining five charges are still being considered by the jury we’ll comment further when the trial is fully accomplished.
“We recognise this will likely be a difficult time for a lot of and support details could be accessed here: sheffdio.org/nossupport.”
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