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05
Oct
Ex-priest from Harrogate who ran ‘church cult’ guilty of rape and indecent assault
A former Church of England priest has been convicted of further sexual offences, including rape, after a retrial.
Chris Brain founded and led an alternative religious movement, the Nine O’Clock Service, based out of Sheffield in the 1980s and '90s, which combined rave culture with Christian worship.
The 69-year-old, originally from Harrogate, had been found guilty in 2025 of 17 counts of indecent assault against nine victims who were members of the Service.
On October 2, 2026 he was found guilty of further offences against more victims, including four counts of indecent assault and one of rape.
Brain, of Park Road in Wilmslow, Cheshire, used his position of spiritual authority to control, isolate and sexually abuse women he had made dependent on his approval, with victims repeatedly speaking of how they felt unable to resist Brain’s abuse for fear of being ostracised if they challenged him.
The court also heard that Brain had a so-called “homebase” team – a group of mainly young women who were required to care for him at his home, including attending on him before he went to sleep.
'This was not consent. It was forced submission, caused by the culture of fear'
Members of the homebase team were told they were there to protect Brain from those said to be undermining his work. One victim described how Brain also controlled who members of the homebase team could have relationships and friendships with outside the group.
The prosecution’s case was that Brain created a ‘cult’ in which the young women he targeted were made so emotionally reliant on his approval that they could not freely consent to his sexual advances.
Throughout the original trial and retrial, Brain repeatedly denied the allegations. He insisted the Nine O’Clock Service was not a cult, and that members were free to come and go as they chose. He accepted sexual contact with some witnesses but maintained that it was always consensual.
Chris Brain will be sentenced for all 22 counts at a date to be set at Inner London Crown Court.
Julie Moss, senior crown prosecutor for CPS Yorkshire and Humberside, said:
Brain framed the Nine O’Clock Service as a progressive force for good, engaged with the local community and involved in environmental concerns. He presented himself as a spiritual leader and a ‘man of God’, who existed to guide and mentor his followers.
However, behind the mask was a man who was repeatedly abusing several young members of his Service. Victims were isolated from their loved ones, made financially and emotionally dependent on the group, and made to believe that resistance to Brain’s sexual advances reflected their own personal or spiritual failings.
This was not consent. It was forced submission, caused by the culture of fear and dependency Brain had deliberately created.
The Church of England issued a statement following Brain’s conviction.
The Bishop of Sheffield, Dr Pete Wilcox, said:
My first thoughts today are with the women whose courage brought this retrial to a conclusion. They have now given evidence, in full, not once but twice. It is unfortunate that that was necessary, and I am acutely conscious of the cost it has had for them. I am also conscious of the distress experienced by many others who have not been part of the criminal proceedings.
Last year, I offered an unreserved apology for the abuse of power and leadership that took place within the Nine O’Clock Service. Today’s verdict adds to that same picture, and my apology stands in full.
Last year, I also commissioned an independent Safeguarding Practice Review into how the Church responded at the time. We took the decision to delay that review until these outstanding charges had been resolved, so as not to cut across the retrial. With today’s verdict, that review will now begin, and I remain committed to seeing it through, and to acting on its findings.
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