A former Anglican priest has been found guilty of 17 charges of indecent assault against nine women who were followers of his cult-like movement in the 1980s and 1990s.
Chris Brain, 68, from Wilmslow, Cheshire, was the founder of the Nine O’Clock Service, known as NOS, which attracted hundreds of followers to rave-style worship services in Sheffield. He was convicted after an eight-week trial at Inner London crown court.
After 37 and a half hours of deliberation a jury found him not guilty of 15 other indecent assault charges.
Judge Freya Newbery asked the jurors to return on Thursday to continue their deliberations on five further charges including an allegation of rape.
NOS was hailed as a success story by Church of England leaders because it was attracting huge congregations of young worshippers. It collapsed in 1995 after a number of women accused Brain of sexual exploitation. The story made newspaper headlines at the time but it was not until 2021 that women came forward to police, leading to a criminal investigation.
Tim Clark KC, for the prosecution, told the court that Brain had abused a “staggering” number of women while he was leading NOS, between 1986 and 1995. He said the victims were unable to properly consent to sexual activity with Brain because he held such power over their lives and they feared being ostracised from the movement.
One of the charges of which Brain was convicted was the sexual assault of an NOS follower when she was in a traumatised state after volunteering with bereaved families in the immediate aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield in 1989. Brain went to her house late that night and climbed into her bed where she said she was curled in a ball. The jury accepted the woman’s account that he had stroked and kissed her sexually when she was powerless to resist.
Another conviction related to a team of young women with NOS Homebase who were known as the Lycra Lovelies. They were tasked with caring for Brain, his wife at the time and their young child. Some Homebase members were also called on to “put Chris to bed”, which involved massages and sexual contact. Women told the court they felt they could not refuse because they saw Brain as their guru and a prophet.
Mark Stibbe, a curate at the Sheffield church where NOS began, told the court that he was reprimanded when he tried to raise his concerns about Brain and NOS with church leaders and had “my ecclesiastical wrists slapped”.
Iain Simkin KC, for the defence, denied that NOS was a cult and said women were free to consent or withdraw consent.