Chris Brain, a former priest and leader of a controversial evangelical church group, has been found guilty of 17 counts of indecent assault against nine women. The verdict was delivered on Wednesday (August 20) at Inner London Crown Court, marking a major chapter in one of Britain’s most disturbing church abuse scandals.
Cult-like Church Movement Under Scrutiny
The 68-year-old Brain was once at the helm of the Nine O’Clock Service (NOS), an influential evangelical movement based in Sheffield during the 1980s and 1990s. Hundreds of people joined the group, which was sometimes characterized as cult-like, but it came under investigation when claims of sexual assault, control, and manipulation started to surface.
Prosecutors described how Brain repeatedly attacked people by abusing his position of power.
In his home, where he lived with his wife and kid, women testified that they were forced to do household chores before being sexually exploited.
Disturbing Testimonies from Survivors
According to testimonies presented in court, victims were forced to “put him to bed with sexual favours.” Some of the assaults occurred under the guise of massages, which Brain admitted he regularly received from members of the home-based church team.
While the jury convicted him on 17 charges, he was acquitted of 15 others. Deliberations are ongoing for four additional counts of indecent assault and one charge of rape. Brain, who denied all charges, now faces sentencing in the coming weeks.
Comparisons with Previous Church Abuse Scandals
The case has drawn comparisons with another high-profile church abuse scandal that emerged three years ago, involving Father Marko Rupnik, a 68-year-old Slovenian priest and renowned artist linked to the Catholic Jesuit order, of which Pope Francis is a member. Rupnik was accused of sexually and psychologically abusing women at a religious community in Ljubljana during the early 1990s.
While the Jesuits confirmed that Rupnik had been sanctioned and barred from hearing confessions, the Vatican’s doctrine office could not prosecute him further due to the statute of limitations. This disclosure brought into question whether institutional flaws shield perpetrators from punishment and how the Catholic Church responds to abuse allegations.
A Pattern of Abuse Within Religious Institutions
The conviction of Chris Brain adds to the growing body of evidence that religious institutions—both evangelical and Catholic—have struggled to confront abuse cases within their ranks. According to campaigners, abusive leaders can take advantage of weak followers under the guise of faith and spirituality because of structural problems with unbridled power, patriarchal control, and a lack of outside watch.
Advocates for survivors of church abuse said the verdict in Brain’s case is an important step toward justice, but warned that many similar cases remain hidden due to stigma, silence, and institutional resistance.
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What The Future Holds
With deliberations on additional charges still underway, Brain’s final sentencing could be even harsher depending on the jury’s decisions.
Watchdog organizations and survivors are eagerly awaiting the verdict in the hopes that it will put pressure on religious movements to enact more stringent accountability guidelines and independent supervision in order to stop abuse in the future.
