Chris Brain, 68, the leader of a Christian group from the United Kingdom, once backed by the Church of England, has been convicted of sexually abusing nine women in their congregation.
A jury issued the final verdicts on Thursday.
Brain led the nine o’clock service, an evangelical movement in Sheffield during the 1980s and 1990s. The group was known for its adoration in the night club style, held at 9 pm on Sundays, which included live music and attracted large crowds of young people.
Prosecutors said Brain used their authority to control the members of the congregation, isolate them from family and friends, and used their position to commit sexual assaults. He also kept a group of young women known as the “Lycra nuns” who helped him, his wife and his daughter at home, said prosecutor Tim Clark to the court.
The leader of the Christian group of the United Kingdom was accused of 36 positions of indecent assault and a violation charge that involved 13 women between 1981 and 1995. He denied the charges, claiming that any sexual contact was consensual.
After a trial in the crown court inside London, he was convicted of 17 charges of indecent assault against nine women. He was acquitted of 15 other positions, while the jury could not reach a verdict on four additional indecent assault positions and the accusation of rape. The Crown Prosecutor’s Office said “would carefully consider” if you are looking for a new trial.
The nine o’clock service had received the approval of the Church of England. In 1990, the Archbishop of Canterbury elected George Carey met with Brain to discuss his methods, and his management was accelerated. Prosecutors said the group even spent a lot to buy the costume used by Robert De Niro in the 1986 The Mission film for their ceremony.
Brain resigned shortly before a BBC documentary was issued in 1995, accusing him of inappropriate sexual behavior. Later, Carey said it was “crushed and disappointed” when the accusations became public.
In court, Brain admitted to having received massages from members of the congregation who sometimes became sexual but denied manipulating them or controlling them.
The Bishop of Sheffield, Pete Wilcox, said in a statement: “What happened was a terrible abuse of power and leadership that should never have occurred. When the concerns were raised in the past and they did not act on properly, that was a failure of the church. For those institutional failures, I offer an apology without reservations.”
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