A former priest who led an influential evangelical “cult” in the Church of England used his position to rape and sexually abuse young women, a court has heard.
Christopher Brain, 69, founded the Nine O’Clock Service (NOS) in Sheffield, a rave-inspired worship movement which ran between 1986 and 1995.
He was convicted of multiple sexual offences against women involved in NOS in another trial last year, a jury at Inner London Crown Court was told on Friday, as reported by the BBC.
Brain, from Cheshire, is now accused of one count of rape and four counts of indecent assault. He denies the charges, and those of which he has been convicted of.
Tim Clark KC, prosecuting, told the court that the church “presented itself as a progressive force for good” but that it became a “closed and controlled group”.
“This was a cult, in which the young women were reduced to such an emotional reliance on the defendant’s approval that they no longer had the capacity to freely consent to the sexual behaviour involved,” Clark told the jury.
Prosecutors allege that some women were put on a “homebase team” rota to care for Brain, his wife and daughter, which involved helping “the defendant get to bed” with sexual favours.
It is claimed that one woman told police she felt she would be “failing as a Christian” if she rejected Brain’s demands, which included her giving topless massages.
The trial continues.
