A jury has been discharged in the trial of a former priest who was the leader of the Nine O’Clock Service evangelical movement.
Christopher Brain, 68, from Wilmslow, Cheshire, was charged with one count of rape and 36 counts of indecent assault between 1981 and 1995 against 13 women.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
He was the leader of the Nine O’Clock Service (NOS), part of the Church of England, in Sheffield between 1986 and 1995.
The 11-strong jury, sitting at Inner London Crown Court, was discharged by Judge Freya Newbery on Thursday after failing to reach a verdict on five counts, having started deliberations on August 12.
The judge told the jurors: “I am going to discharge you now on those counts. For you it all comes to an end now.
“I am really grateful for such a lot of time that you have given.”
Ms Newbury gave the jurors the option of exemption from jury service if summoned within the next 10 years.
A further hearing to determine whether prosecutors believe there are grounds for a retrial for the charges was set for September 4.
On Wednesday, jurors at Inner London Crown Court found him guilty of 17 counts of indecent assault against nine women. However, he was acquitted of another 15 charges of indecent assault against two women.
The jury is still deliberating the rape charge and four further counts of indecent assault.
The seven-week trial heard how Brain, 68, was praised by the Archbishop of Canterbury after his “club culture” inspired services at St Thomas’ Church in Crookes, Sheffield, and later Ponds Forge leisure centre, drew hundreds of young congregants.
He was fast-tracked for Holy Orders as the movement took off, but it collapsed in controversy in 1995 after women alleged their charismatic leader had been sexually assaulting them, in some cases claiming he was helping to heal their sexual repression.
