Church of England priest led cult and sexually abused a ‘staggering number of women', jury told

Independent

01-07-2025

A priest once hailed for his 'groundbreaking' services became the leader of a cult in the Church of England and sexually abused a 'staggering' number of women, a court heard.
Christopher Brain, who led the progressive Nine O-Clock Service (NOS) in Sheffield in the 80s and 90s, surrounded himself with women who wore lingerie or revealing clothes as part of his 'homebase team', jurors at Inner London Crown Court were told.
The court heard the women – sometimes referred to as the 'the Lycra Lovelies' or 'the Lycra Nuns' – were on a rota to help then-Reverend Brain get to bed and this included performing sexual favours, a Bishop was told by a whistleblower in 1995.
When Mr Brian was confronted at the time over claims he had abused up to 40 women, he replied: 'I thought it was more', the court heard. He resigned from holy orders in November that year.
Appearing in the dock wearing purple shirt on Tuesday, Mr Brain is accused of one count of rape and 36 counts of indecent assault relating to 13 women between 1981 and 1995.
Opening the prosecution's case, Tim Clark KC said that zthe Church of England initially viewed NOS as a success story and Mr Brain was fast-tracked for ordination.
'In truth NOS became a closed and controlled group which the defendant dominated and abused his position first as a leader and then as an ordained priest to sexually assault a staggering number of women from his congregation,' he told the jury.
Mr Clark said NOS became a cult in which members, who were vetted and organised into 'discipleship' groups, were isolated from their friends and families.
'Members of NOS became utterly dependent on NOS and desperate for the attention and praise of the defendant,' he added. 'They were encouraged to give up their time, finances and, eventually, their sense of self to this organisation and its leader.'
Mr Brain first became involved with St Thomas' Church in Sheffield through his Christian rock band Present Tense. The 9pm NOS multimedia church services were described as 'visually stunning' and featured live music aimed at a younger congregation.
By the time he took Holy Orders in December 1991 'signs of grandiose self-regard were already present' and large sums of money were spent finding the robes worn by the actor Robert De Niro in the movie 'The Mission' for him to wear at his ordination, Mr Clark said.
One female congregant, who believes she was 'brainwashed' by the priest, alleges he invited her to his home while his wife was away in 1983 or 1984, where he pinned her down and raped her.
'She recalls moving her head from side to side and saying 'no',' Mr Clark told the jury. 'She said his weight was too great for her to be able to move him off her. She felt that she froze.'
Another woman claims she 'had to be available' to 'put him to bed'. On those occasions, he would undress and rub himself against her as she massaged him while wearing only her underwear, the court heard.
Mr Clark said: 'She described going into a 'robotic' state doing this, she dreaded receiving his phone calls.'
Mr Brain told his alleged victim he was helping her 'heal from her sexual repression', the jury heard.
A third woman alleges she would be called to the defendant's address to 'help him relax'. She said she had no friends outside NOS and feared being removed from his team if she disobeyed.
She described him as 'Jekyll and Hyde' character, Mr Clark said, adding: 'She feared his anger if she didn't comply, isolation if she didn't submit and he had installed in her a belief (as a apparent man of God) that she was doing the right thing.'
A further complainant described him as a 'predator hiding in plain sight' who would 'pick off women who he viewed as vulnerable'.
She told police the homebase team was made up of church member who were 'young, female and beautiful', the jury were told.
On one occasion he pinned her down on the floor, pressed himself against her and said she 'needed to accept that she was the sort of woman who wanted to be raped and that she couldn't be spiritual person unless she admitted this', Mr Clark said.
'He continued to pin her down until she made this admission,' the prosecutor added. 'She didn't hold such views but she was scared of him. His violent conduct was sudden and without warning.'
Mr Brain, 68, who denies all charges, insists NOS was not a cult and, where sexual contact did occur, it was consensual.
The eight-week trial continues.