The Church of England has apologised unreservedly for its failings over a former priest who has been convicted of indecently assaulting young women who attended a groundbreaking evangelical church featuring rock music and rave culture.
Christopher Brain was found guilty on 17 charges of indecent assault against women who attended the Nine O’Clock Service in Sheffield between 1986 and 1995 after a trial that lasted more than seven weeks.
The jury found him not guilty on a further 15 charges of indecent assault, and was unable to reach verdicts on a further four charges of indecent assault and one charge of rape.
Brain, from Wilmslow, Cheshire, had denied all charges.
In a statement, Pete Wilcox, the bishop of Sheffield, said: “What happened was an appalling abuse of power and leadership that should never have occurred. Where concerns were raised in the past and were not acted upon properly, that was a failing of the church. For those institutional failures I offer an unreserved apology.”
He said he was deeply sorry for the harm that those assaulted by Brain had suffered, adding that the church was “committed to supporting those affected”.
The C of E would order an independent review to examine its “safeguarding responses, culture and processes so that we can identify where lessons can be learned and strengthen best practice for the future”.
The trial heard that the Nine O’Clock Service (NOS) had “presented itself to the outside world as a progressive force for good”. But, prosecutors said, NOS became a cult in which Brain abused his position to exert control over the lives of his female followers and ostracise them from friends and family. Some victims told police they felt “brainwashed” by Brain.
The NOS was one of the first churches to offer services specifically designed to attract young people, with live music and an atmosphere more akin to a nightclub than traditional worship.
It started at St Thomas’s church in Sheffield in 1986 but later moved to a leisure centre to accommodate its growing congregation, which reached up to 600 people.
The Church of England celebrated its success, and hoped its innovative model might be replicated in other churches to attract new congregations. The Right Rev David Lunn, the then bishop of Sheffield, told the BBC the NOS was a “new development in the way we understand the Christian religion”.
Dazzled by Brain’s apparent star qualities, the C of E fast-tracked his ordination as a priest in 1991. The court heard that “large sums of money” were spent to obtain robes worn by the actor Robert De Niro in the film The Mission for Brain to wear in his ordination ceremony a year later.
Young women from the NOS congregation were recruited to a “home base team” dedicated to looking after Brain, his wife and daughter.
The group became known among NOS members as the “Lycra lovelies” or the “Lycra nuns” after witnesses reported seeing Brain surrounded by women in lingerie and tight clothing at his home, said Tim Clark KC, prosecuting.
The women carried out household chores and some gave the priest massages, the prosecution said.
In his evidence, Brain told the jury the massages were intended to relieve “tensions” on his body but could evolve into consensual “sensual touching”. That, he said, was “no big deal”.
Brain rejected testimony that he had tried to control people by making them wear the same clothing or lose weight, or that he discouraged them from maintaining friendships.
Brain told the court the women’s clothing was “completely normal for that era” and any touching was with “100% consent”. He said the NOS was “more like a group of musicians living together” than a traditional church, and was a “free, open, really caring, very fun environment”.
He said in evidence that his “direct Yorkshire style” may have been misinterpreted as controlling and abusive.
One woman who had been a member of the NOS under Brain described him as “a predator” who “picked off women he thought were vulnerable”, and that he created a “deeply psychologically abusive” atmosphere designed to keep his victims in line.
The NOS collapsed in 1995 after women alleged they had been sexually abused by Brain. The priest admitted “improper sexual conduct with a number of women” and resigned his position. Survivors came forward again in 2021.
Richard Scorer, who represented Brain’s victims, said the case “could and should have been prosecuted 30 years ago”.
He added: “The C of E must now reckon with its role – this high-control religious cult operated on its watch.”
He said there had been “clear warning signs” about Brain which were not acted upon. The C of E’s “failure to act enabled a predator to flourish under the guise of spiritual authority,” he added.
