Overview

• Brain, 68, founded and led the Nine O’Clock Service in Sheffield in the 1980s–90s, a youth‑focused worship movement later described in court as cult‑like.
• Jurors found him guilty on 17 counts of indecent assault against nine women and acquitted him on 15 other counts after an eight‑week trial at Inner London Crown Court.
• Prosecutors said he exerted coercive control, isolating followers and using a homebase team of young women—dubbed the 'Lycra Nuns'—whose domestic care and massages featured in accounts of abuse.
• The Church of England issued an unreserved apology for past failings and said it will commission an independent review of safeguarding responses, culture and processes.
• South Yorkshire Police said the convictions followed an extensive investigation launched in 2019 with hundreds of inquiries and interviews, and sentencing will take place at a later date.