Sentencing of ex-priest who abused women delayed

Christopher Brain, the former priest who was the leader of evangelical movement the Nine O'Clock Service

The sentencing of a former priest convicted of abusing members of a "cult-like" church group has been delayed until next year.

Chris Brain, who ran the influential Nine O'Clock Service (NOS) in Sheffield in the 1980s and 1990s, was found guilty of 17 indecent assaults on nine women and cleared of 15 further counts earlier this year.

The jury could not reach a verdict on four counts of indecent assault and one count of rape, meaning Brain, who is 68 and now lives in Cheshire, is due to face a retrial in September next year.

A judge at Inner London Crown Court ruled in a case management hearing on Thursday morning that he would not be sentenced until after his retrial.

Judge Freya Newbury said Brain, who had been on bail, would be remanded in custody until next year's trial.

NOS began in Sheffield in 1986 and was initially celebrated by Church of England leaders for its nightclub-style services, which attracted hundreds of young people.

The Church fast-tracked Brain's ordination as a priest in 1991 due to the success of the NOS and the NOS moved to the city's Ponds Forge leisure centre to accommodate the growing congregation.

But prosecutors told the jury NOS "became a cult" in which Brain abused his position to sexually assault "a staggering number" of women from his congregation.

The group was dissolved in 1995 when concerns about Brain's behaviour were first raised.

At the end of Brain's trial, the Bishop of Sheffield offered an "unreserved apology" to victims for "an appalling abuse of power and leadership which should never have occurred".

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