A former priest accused of leading an evangelical cult in the Church of England has defended having “sensual” contact with followers, telling the jury: “I was the most radical ordained vicar there was.”
Christopher Brain, who led the rave-style Nine O-Clock Service (NOS) in Sheffield in the 80s and 90s, allegedly surrounded himself with women who wore lingerie or revealing clothes as part of his “homebase team” who kept his house “spotlessly clean”.
Jurors at Inner London Crown Court previously heard the women – sometimes referred to as “the Lycra Lovelies” or “the Lycra Nuns” – were on a rota to help maintain the home of then-Reverend Brain.
The 68-year-old denies one count of rape and 36 counts of indecent assault relating to 13 women in the church movement between 1981 and 1995. He accepts that he engaged in sexual activity with some of the complainants, but insists that it was consensual.
Giving evidence for a second day, he defended the encounters with members of his congregation when he was married with a young child.
He claimed he and his former wife “were in a pretty much open relationship” and considering splitting up, adding: “I wasn’t a traditional vicar, I was someone on a journey of radical research and experimentation.”
The former clergyman, who was fast-tracked for ordination in 1991 after the movement attracted hundreds of younger congregants to the Church of England, previously told the court said he received “sensual” back massages from women to relieve tension headaches.
He claims he resigned from NOS to carry on his work in San Francisco in 1993, two years before the Sheffield church collapsed surrounded by controversy in 1995.
Challenged over his contact with congregants on Tuesday, he replied: “In a traditional setting I don’t know. But if you are in a polyamorous community at the front edge of culture in San Francisco and at the heart of the rave movement, then obviously I thought it was OK.”
He told the jury he and one complainant – who alleges he raped her at his home in Sheffield in 1983 or 1984 – engaged in “petting” on a regular basis. He said he and his then-wife were “pretty open”, but if liaisons progressed to full sex it would be cheating.
He admitted to having sex with the woman after it “went too far”, but said it was “absolutely” consensual.
“We were in the bedroom and it just went too far,” he said. “We started having sex and shortly after that started we stopped.”
He said another woman, who accuses him of multiple counts of sexual assault, was “totally happy with it”.
“It was a club environment” he added. “It wasn’t like a church house it was like a group of musicians living together.”
Asked why he would not touch the woman without consent, Mr Brain replied: “It was absolutely the grounding of everything that we were doing.”
He insisted NOS was a “free, open, really caring, very fun environment” and said sexual aggression is “not my style” as he contested his portrayal as some kind of “lairy” guy. He alleged the liaisons came after trust had been built up over a long period of time.
He added: “I am not the type of guy to try it on, I never have been. It’s not part of my character or my belief system.”
He said an accusation he simulated a rape scene with one woman “absolutely didn’t happen” and denied a number of other charges, including an allegation he placed a woman’s hand on his genitals.
Questioned by his lawyer Iain Simkins KC over his appearance in a 1995 BBC documentary on NOS called Everyman, in which he admitted he was “involved in improper sexual conduct with a number of women”, he told the jury he “over accepted responsibility” in the programme.
“I think it shows I pretty much over accepted responsibility,” he said. “I massively accepted the responsibility for the bulk of it. Almost single handedly being blamed for everything that seemed to have gone wrong.”
He insisted NOS was never a cult and denied he engaged in a “sexual healing practise” with female followers, adding: “The sexual healing trope that is laid all over this case didn’t exist.”
He described the criminal charges as a “witch hunt” and said the breakdown of NOS “basically destroyed my life” in the 90s.
Under cross examination by Tim Clark KC, prosecuting, he denied abusing his position and using “psycho-babble” to gain sexual gratification from women.
Put to him by Mr Clark that he had “let the mask slip” with his evidence on consent, the defendant replied: “If I wanted to get off with women to get my rocks off, I wouldn’t need to do this. I promise you.”
The prosecution allege NOS became a “closed and controlled” group which he used to “sexually assault a staggering number of women from his congregation”.
The trial continues.
