A 69-year-old Church of England clergyman is alleged to have operated what prosecutors described as a cult-like organisation, sexually exploiting female members and enlisting them to provide domestic and personal care for his family while dressed in suggestive clothing, Inner London Crown Court has been told.
Christopher Brain previously led the Nine O’Clock Service, an offshoot of the Church of England operating in Sheffield, between 1986 and 1995.
The group offered youthful worshippers vibrant services featuring musical performances and lighting displays before transforming into an organisation dominated entirely by Brain, the court heard.
The prosecution stated that Brain established a domestic support unit nicknamed the Lycra Nuns, whose members were tasked with attending to the needs of Brain, his spouse and their child within his household.
Those assigned to this team were reportedly expected to assist Brain in retiring for the evening, a responsibility that allegedly extended to providing sexual services.
Brain, whose address is in Wilmslow, Cheshire, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of rape and four counts of indecent assault.
The charges relate to a minimum of 15 separate allegations occurring between 1983 and 1995, involving four separate complainants.
Tim Clark KC, prosecuting, informed the jury that Brain had received prior convictions for numerous indecent assault offences committed against members of the Nine O’Clock Service at a separate hearing the previous year.
The barrister explained that the Church of England originally celebrated the Nine O’Clock Service as an innovative and pioneering venture, but that allegations surfacing in 1995 generated substantial press coverage, documentary productions and published works.
The court was informed that at Brain’s ordination ceremony in 1991, substantial expenditure was incurred on ceremonial vestments previously worn by actor Robert De Niro in the 1986 motion picture The Mission.
Mr Clark alleged that when congregation members challenged Brain during the 1990s and informed him they believed he had assaulted as many as 40 women, he reportedly responded that he had assumed the figure was higher.
The prosecutor stated that the Nine O’Clock Service evolved into a sealed and tightly governed collective under Brain’s complete control.
He exploited his status initially as a group leader and subsequently as an ordained minister to commit sexual assaults against a substantial number of women from within that congregation.
Mr Clark stated that this operation functioned as a cult, in which young female members were rendered so emotionally dependent upon Brain’s approval that they lost the ability to genuinely consent to the sexual conduct he demanded of them.
Members were reportedly persuaded to distance themselves from their relatives and became entirely reliant upon the Nine O’Clock Service while craving Brain’s attention and commendation.
The barrister alleged that Brain would unexpectedly enter the lives of female members, frequently collecting them in his vehicle while they were walking alone.
Those who failed to maintain Brain’s satisfaction faced exclusion from the group, Mr Clark told the court.
The prosecution stated that Brain acknowledged engaging in sexual contact with certain Nine O’Clock Service members during a documentary interview, but maintained these encounters were entirely voluntary.
He further asserted to officers that the congregation did not constitute a cult and that participants retained the freedom to depart whenever they wished.
The congregation, meeting at the Ponds Forge Rotunda in Sheffield, was structured into separate groups for intensive religious instruction.
Every new attendee underwent a screening procedure before being permitted to join.
One young woman reported to police that during the early 1980s she was invited to Brain’s residence, where he supplied her with whisky before escorting her to an upper floor for sexual intercourse while she attempted to move away from him and verbally refused.
Another complainant disclosed that Brain would frequently subject her to unwanted sexual touching within his personal bedroom.
She stated that she believed refusing his demands would constitute failure as a Christian, given his standing as a man of God.
One woman reported being instructed that she was required to utilise her sexual power to honour God.
She characterised Brain as possessing two distinct personalities, noting her constant anxiety about his volatile temperament.
Mr Clark stated that Brain acknowledges some sexual activity with several women occurred, yet maintains such interactions were consensual.
He additionally asserted to officers that the Nine O’Clock Service was not a cult and that members could depart at any time.
The prosecution submitted that the organisation projected an image of being an agent of positive change engaged in local community initiatives and environmental advocacy.
Brain had previously overseen a Christian rock ensemble named Present Tense.
He relocated to Sheffield following his spouse’s enrolment as a university student.
Brain stepped down from his ministerial position in 1995.
The current proceedings were scheduled to resume the following week.