FORMER CHURCH OF ENGLAND PRIEST FOUND GUILTY OF RAPE, ASSAULTS OF WOMEN

Fri 02 October 2026:

Former Church of England priest Chris Brain was convicted of rape and multiple indecent assaults against women associated with Sheffield’s Nine O’Clock Service, according to media reports on Friday.

Brain, 69, was convicted following a retrial at Inner London Crown Court, the BBC reported.

He was also convicted of four counts of indecent assault against three women, adding to 17 indecent assaults against nine women for which he was convicted at a trial last year.

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Prosecutors told the court that Brain had abused his position as a priest to sexually assault “a staggering number of women from his congregation.”

At its height, NOS attracted up to 600 congregants to light and music-filled services at St Thomas’ in Crookes, Sheffield, later moving to a larger venue at Ponds Forge leisure centre. At one stage there was a mass confirmation service of 93 members, said to be the largest group they had ever confirmed in one church.

It took its name from the routine of evangelical services at 9pm on Sunday, complete with live music and nightclub-style light shows.

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.

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.”

Prosecutors said Brain created a “cult” and brainwashed his victims into believing that he was a “mouthpiece of God”. Victims felt, if they failed to meet his demands, they would be failing as Christians.

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, the trial heard.

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.

Brain appeared in one of the documentaries and made admissions to the filmmaker of sexual contact with a number of the female members of NOS, jurors were told.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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