A former priest who established a “cult” within the Church of England has been found guilty of raping a woman in his congregation.

Chris Brain was also convicted of four counts of indecent assault against three other women who were part of the Nine O’Clock Service in Sheffield in the 1980s and 1990s.

The 69-year-old was found guilty of the offences after a retrial at Inner London Crown Court, having already been found guilty of 17 indecent assaults against nine women at a trial last year.

Brain, previously of Wilmslow in Greater Manchester, is in custody awaiting sentencing at a later date.

The Nine O’Clock Service, known as NOS, attracted hundreds of young people to St Thomas’s church with its ground-breaking nightclub-style worship which blended rave culture, live music and prayer.

But jurors heard the group “became a cult” in which members were encouraged to cut themselves off from family and friends, leaving them “utterly dependent” on Brain, and living in fear of being ostracised if they crossed him.

Prosecutor Tim Clark KC told the court Brain had abused his position as a priest to sexually assault “a staggering number of women from his congregation”.

The verdicts mean Brain has now been convicted of a total of 22 sexual offences against 13 women.

Following his latest convictions, South Yorkshire Police said Brain was a “devious and arrogant sexual predator who caused lasting harm to these women”.

Across the two trials the court heard several of Brain’s victims were part of a so-called “homebase team”, who cared for him 24 hours a day in his family home and would be expected to “put him to bed” with sexual massages.

One woman told the court how Brain had pushed her down onto his bed and raped her after inviting her to his house while his wife was away between 1981 and 1984.

Another victim said in evidence at both trials she was sexually assaulted by the priest in her bedroom while traumatised after spending hours helping people at the Hillsborough disaster locate the bodies of friends and family.

Read More: ‘Cult’ priest guilty of rape and assault of women