Former Church of England priest found guilty of rape, assaults of women
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.
Prosecutors told the court that Brain had abused his position as a priest to sexually assault “a staggering number of women from his congregation.”
The Nine O’Clock Service, known as NOS, attracted hundreds of young people to St Thomas’s Church with its nightclub-style worship.
It was initially held at St Thomas’s Church in Crookes before later moving to a larger venue in Ponds Forge in the city center.
Prosecutor Tim Clark said it “became a cult” in which members were encouraged to cut themselves off from family and friends, leaving them “utterly dependent” on Brain.
Clark said members lived in fear of being ostracized if they crossed Brain.
“Brain is a devious and arrogant sexual predator who caused lasting harm to these women,” Detective Superintendent Eleanor Welsh, senior investigating officer, said in a statement following his latest convictions.
AA
