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Former Church of England priest Chris Brain has been convicted of rape and further indecent assaults against women associated with Sheffield’s Nine O’Clock Service, according to the BBC.
Brain, 69, was convicted after a retrial at Inner London Crown Court. He was also found guilty of four counts of indecent assault against three women, adding to 17 counts involving nine women for which he was convicted last year.
Prosecutors described members’ dependence on Brain
Prosecutors told the court that Brain had abused his position as a priest to sexually assault “a staggering number of women from his congregation”.
Tim Clark, the prosecutor, said the Nine O’Clock Service, or NOS, “became a cult”. Members were encouraged to distance themselves from family and friends, leaving them “utterly dependent” on Brain, he said. Clark added that they feared being ostracised if they crossed him.
Service attracted hundreds of young people
The Nine O’Clock Service drew hundreds of young people to St Thomas’s Church with its nightclub-style worship. It began at the church in Crookes before moving to a larger venue at Ponds Forge in Sheffield city centre.
“Brain is a devious and arrogant sexual predator who caused lasting harm to these women,” Detective Superintendent Eleanor Welsh, the senior investigating officer, said in a statement following the latest convictions.
