Ex-priest of 'cult' church group to face retrial on five sex offence charges
A former priest and leader of the Nine O’Clock Service evangelical movement will face a retrial on five outstanding sexual offence charges.
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Christopher Brain, 68, went on trial accused of one count of rape and 36 counts of indecent assault against 13 women during the years he led the movement, which was part of the Church of England, between 1986 and 1995 in Sheffield.
Last month he was found guilty of 17 counts of indecent assault and cleared of a further 15.
However, the jury at Inner London Crown Court was unable to reach a verdict on four counts of indecent assault and one of rape.
At the same court on Thursday, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it wants to pursue a retrial on the outstanding charges.
Brain, of Wilmslow, Cheshire, did not attend the hearing, where prosecutor Tim Clark KC confirmed the CPS wishes to pursue a retrial on all five counts.
Mr Clark said: "The Crown are of the firm view that there should be a retrial, it's in the public interest that there should be a retrial on those counts."
Judge Freya Newbery adjourned the case until October 2 for a further case management hearing.
During the trial, jurors heard the Nine O'Clock Service group was aimed at younger people and "presented itself to the outside world as a progressive force for good".
Prosecutors said it became a cult in which Brain abused his position to exert control over the lives of his female followers and ostracise them from friends and family.
The court heard a "homebase team" was set up to "care for" Brain - referred to as "the Lycra Lovelies" or "the Lycra Nuns" - and witnesses reported seeing the defendant surrounded by attractive women in lingerie at his home, looking after his needs.
