A former Church of England priest who ran a rave-inspired “cult” group has been found guilty of indecently assaulting nine women.

Chris Brain, 68, led the Nine O’Clock Service (NOS) in the 1980s and 1990s in Sheffield, with services aimed at 18 to 30-year-olds featuring multimedia, scantily-dressed women, and a live band.

The movement was initially seen by the church as a “ground-breaking” success story and attracted between 500 to 600 people to worship at 9pm on Sundays after NOS moved from St Thomas Church to The Rotunda in Ponds Forge.

Brain, from Wilmslow, Cheshire, denied committing sexual offences against 13 women, including one count of rape and 36 counts of indecent assault between 1981 and 1995.

Today he was found guilty of 17 counts of indecent assault relating to nine women and acquitted of 15 similar charges.

The jury is still deliberating on five outstanding counts, including the rape charge.

Inner London Crown Court heard Brain’s ordination was “fast-tracked”, including claims he cheated in his exams, and he wore the same cassock as Robert De Niro in The Mission for the ceremony in 1991.

But prosecutors said NOS became a “closed and controlled group”, in which Brain “dominated and abused his position” to sexually assault a “staggering number of women from his congregation”.

NOS collapsed in 1994 after women made allegations about Brain, who resigned from his holy orders in 1995 amid “enormous media interest”, the court heard.

‘Allegations destroyed my life’

Giving evidence, Brain admitted receiving back massages from some NOS members, which he said started as a way to relieve tension headaches, but would “very rarely” lead to sexual activity.

“With some of my closest friends, it would be kissing sometimes, occasionally massaging, stroking. Anything more than that, we would back off,” he said.

He told the jury any touching was done with “100%” consent, and he would’ve “instantly stopped” if anyone had indicated they were uncomfortable.

Brain said the allegations had “basically destroyed my life” and suggested the women had “to exaggerate these things to make it either sexual or controlling” in order “to make a criminal case”.

Brain said he became involved in the dotcom boom in the late 1990s before setting up a business helping smaller firms transition into big companies, which folded once he was charged.

A police officer has described the moment he was shot with a crossbow – as his “extremely dangerous” attacker was sentenced to nine years in jail.

Jason King, 54, fired the weapon at PC Curtis Foster after stabbing a neighbour, a man in his 60s, following an altercation in Downley, Wycombe, on 10 May last year.

PC Foster was struck in the leg by a crossbow bolt while King chased after him and his fellow unarmed officer.

“I knew something had impacted me, but my adrenaline was so high that the pain wasn’t really there,” PC Foster said.

“I first realised I was bleeding quite a lot when I could feel it running down my leg, and then I touched my leg with above my trousers, and my whole hand was red where it’d gone through my trousers already.”

PC Foster and his colleague cleared the area of civilians, while armed officers chased King to a local park.

King also fired the crossbow at a police dog but missed.

He was ordered to drop the weapon, but instead started running with it in hand towards the exit of the park to where PC Foster had escaped.

An armed officer fired one shot at King, striking him in the abdomen, to stop him.

‘Covered in my blood’

As King was apprehended, paramedics and his fellow officers treated the seriously injured PC Foster.

“There was a lot of blood. My two colleagues that turned up initially on scene were covered in my blood – that’s how much blood I’d lost,” PC Foster said.

“When we got to the hospital, the doctor had a feel of it and said that I was really lucky it didn’t strike an artery. It was a couple of centimetres away from hitting an artery in the back of my leg.”

PC Foster has since made a full recovery, as did the neighbour King stabbed.

King himself was taken to hospital under police supervision with potentially life-changing injuries and was discharged 10 days later, when he was arrested and taken into police custody.

On Wednesday, King was jailed at Aylesbury Crown Court for nine years with a further three years on extended licence having previously pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding, having an article with a blade or point, having an offensive weapon, wounding with intent and affray regarding the incident.

“Jason King will now serve a substantial prison sentence as a result of his violent actions on 10 May 2024. The community and residents of Downley are much safer for it,” said senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Nick Hind.

He added: “The courage of our officers in dealing with this incident was second to none.”

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‘Significant threat to police’

DI Hind explained that the impact the incident had in the local community couldn’t be underestimated as King was “an extremely dangerous man, who posed a significant threat to police, other emergency services and members of the community”.

A mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct was made after the police shooting of King.

The IOPC, which concluded its investigation in November, commended “everybody involved in this incident”, according to DI Hind.

A mother-of-two who died after being hit by a falling tree branch on the way home from a family outing would do “everything she could for anyone”, her husband has said.

Madia Kauser, 32, was walking with her family in Witton Park in Blackburn, Lancashire, on 11 August when the incident happened.

She is reported to have pushed her young daughter to safety.

A joint investigation is being carried out by Lancashire Police and the Health and Safety Executive and any witnesses are being asked to come forward.

In a tribute issued by police, her husband Wasim Khan described her as the “most beautiful woman in the world” and said he feels “completely lost without her”.

He said: “My wife, a mother-of-two, a daughter, sister and a friend we lost to a tragic event that came on the way home from a family day out in the park.

“She was the most beautiful woman in the world, she did everything for our two children, she did everything she could for anyone and would bring smiles whenever she entered the room.

“She was my comfort, my partner in life and the love of my life.

“We have so many great memories, went through pain together and started a family together.

“Honestly, I feel completely lost without her and I do not know how to put into words how much I miss her face, her character and her presence. My one and only.”

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Detective Inspector Iain Czapowski said: “This is an absolutely tragic incident which has cost a young woman her life and my thoughts are with her loved ones.

“We are working closely with our colleagues from the Health and Safety Executive and with the co-operation of the council to try and establish the full circumstances of what happened, and I would like to speak to anyone with information which could assist with that.

“I am especially keen to speak to anyone who actually saw what happened on that fateful night and I would urge them to contact us.”