Chris Brain, the former leader of the Nine O'Clock Services in Sheffield, is on trial for sexual offences allegedly committed between 1983 and 1995. A woman has given evidence describing how she was coerced into unwanted sexual contact and subjected to severe financial and psychological manipulation by Brain through his control of what is described as a "cult" church group. She testified about the pervasive exploitation of members' vulnerabilities and isolation from their families.

The woman stated that she and her newlywed husband were pressured into selling their home and donating the full £8,000 proceeds to Brain's church, after which they lived with him. She was also forced to contribute her wages to a communal fund and was coerced into giving naked massages to Brain under threat of ostracisation from the group. The church exercised extreme control over members' lives, including dictating their diet, clothing and exercise, isolating them from their families, and punishing minor infractions through shunning. Brain is accused of raping one woman and assaulting three others; he denies all charges and was previously convicted of other offences last year.