Priest abused a staggering number of women, jury told

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.

- AMY-CLARE MARTIN CRIME CORRESPONDENT

Christopher Brain, who led the progressive Nine O-Clock Service (NOS) in Sheffield in the 1980s 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 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 Brain 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 yesterday, 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 the 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.