CHRIS BRAIN, the founder of the Nine O’Clock Service (NOS), is to face a retrial next year on charges of rape and indecent assault.

Last month, a jury at Inner London Crown Court returned verdicts on 32 of the 37 charges against Mr Brain, 68, of Wilmslow, Cheshire. They found him guilty on 17 charges of indecent assault, and not guilty on 15 further charges (News, 20 August)

The jury could not reach a verdict on a further four charges of indecent assault and one of rape. The Crown Prosecution Service was seeking a second trial on these charges, Tim Clark KC told a hearing on Thursday. “It’s in the public interest,” he said.

The second trial is scheduled to begin in September next year. In his first trial, Mr Brain denied all the charges.

The assaults of which Mr Brain was found guilty were committed in the 1980s and 1990s. The NOS, which Mr Brain led, began in Sheffield in 1986 and was celebrated for its ability to draw crowds of young people. But it collapsed in 1995 over allegations about Mr Brain’s behaviour, and concerns about a “cult-like” atmosphere.

After the initial verdicts were announced, the Bishop of Sheffield, Dr Pete Wilcox, offered “an unreserved apology” to anyone effected by the events (News, 21 August).

“I recognise that a mixed verdict can be profoundly painful: for some it may bring a measure of justice and relief, and for others it will feel incomplete, confusing, or retraumatising,” he said at the time. “Those reactions are understandable and I am truly sorry for the continued hurt this brings.

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