Sheffield priest ran ‘cult’ where he sexually abused young women, court told
Congregation was based at Ponds Forge
A Church of England priest ran a “cult” where he sexually abused women and got them to care for him and his wife at home wearing lingerie, a court has heard.
Christopher Brain, aged 69, was leader of the Nine O’Clock Service (NOS), part of the Church of England, in Sheffield, between 1986 and 1995.
The “vibrant church” services for young people included a live band and light shows – but the group became a cult dominated by Brain, Inner London Crown Court was told.
The priest set up a “home base” team known as the “Lycra Nuns” to care for him and his wife and daughter at home, the prosecution said.
The team were told to help Brain get to bed which included sexual favours, it is alleged.
Brain, from Wilmslow, Cheshire, denies rape and four counts of indecent assault relating to at least 15 alleged incidents said to have taken place between 1983 and 1995 involving four women.
Prosecutor Tim Clark, KC, told jurors on Friday that Brain was convicted of a large number of offences of indecent assault against NOS members at another trial last year.
He said the Church of England initially viewed NOS as a “ground-breaking” success story but that allegations against the congregation in 1995 led to “enormous media interest”, documentaries and books.
At his ordination in 1991 large sums of money were spent on robes for Brain to wear which had been worn by actor Robert De Niro in 1986 film The Mission, the court heard.
The prosecutor said that when Brain was confronted by members of the church in the 1990s and told it was believed he had abused up to 40 women he replied “I thought it was more”.
Mr Clark said: “NOS became a closed and controlled group which the defendant dominated. He abused his position first as a leader, and later as an ordained priest, to sexually assault a staggering number of women from that congregation.
“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 that he required of them.”
He said members were encouraged to separate themselves from their families and became dependent on NOS and desperate for the attention and praise of Brain.
He said: “The defendant would suddenly appear in the female members’ lives, often picking them up in his car whilst they were walking along.
“Those who did not keep the defendant happy would find themselves estranged from the group.”
Brain admitted sexual contact with members of NOS in a documentary, the prosecutor said.
The congregation, based at the Ponds Forge Rotunda in Sheffield, was organised into “discipleship groups” and all new members were vetted.
Mr Clark said the service presented itself as “a progressive force for good” which was involved in the local community and environmental concerns.
Brain had been leader of a Christian Rock group called Present Tense and moved to Sheffield when his wife became a student at the university.
He resigned as a priest in 1995.
The trial continues.