Hillsong Founder Brian Houston Found Not Guilty of Concealing his Father's Child Sexual Abuse

Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston has been found not guilty of concealing his father's sexual abuse of a child. Magistrate Gareth Christofi on Thursday found Brian Houston not guilty, after concluding he had a "reasonable excuse" for not reporting the matter.

Houston, 69, was a child when his pedophile father and pastor, Frank Houston, molested Brett Sengstock in the 1970s. Houston found out about it in 1999, five years before his father's death, but kept the matter under wraps instead of turning to the authorities or the police, citing the victim's alleged wish for confidentiality. 

In his judgement, Magistrate Christofi found Mr Houston knew or reasonably believed that Mr Sengstock did not want the matter reported to police. 

"There is little doubt in my view that the accused knew or believed on reasonable grounds that Brett Sengstock did not want the matter reported to police," the magistrate said. 

He also found that a $10,000 payment arranged by Frank Houston to Mr Sengstock could not be proven to be "hush money", or that Brian Houston had intended it to be so. The court heard Mr Sengstock, then in his 30s, met with Frank Houston and another member of the Hills Christian Life Centre - the precursor to Hillsong - at Thornleigh McDonalds in 1999. He signed a napkin and told the court Frank Houston said: "You'll get your money we can keep this between ourselves."

Mr Sengstock told the court he believed the money was to "buy his silence", and that he did not see the money until he chased up the deal with Brian Houston.

Magistrate Christofi found, however, that the terms of the agreement were "entirely unclear" and there was insufficient evidence that it was intended to stop Mr Sengstock from going to the police.

Magistrate Christophi rejected the Crown's case that Brian Houston facilitated a "cover-up" to protect the church's reputation, saying the Hillsong founder spoke openly about his father's crimes.The court heard Brian Houston told "many people at various levels" of the church about Frank Houston's predatory behaviour and referenced it in sermons delivered to churchgoers.

Brian Houston also discussed it during an interview with a reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald in 2002, Magistrate Christofi noted. "That is the very opposite of a cover up," the magistrate found. "He spoke widely and freely about the matter in public settings.

Speaking outside court after the verdict, Houston expressed sympathy with his father's victim but also hit out at police and prosecutors. "I've been found not guilty today, but in fact, I've always been not guilty," he said.

"I want to express my sadness to Brett Sengstock... genuine sadness about what my father did to him, and all of his victims. He was obviously a serial paedophile. We probably will never know the extent of his paedophilia, and a lot of people 's lives have been tragically hurt, and for that I'll always be very sad."

Houston in 2022 resigned as leader of the mega-church he founded in Sydney's Hills district after internal investigations found he had engaged in inappropriate conduct with two women. 

 

 

 

 

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