The founder and pastor of a megachurch in Sydney, Australia, was found not guilty of trying to cover up his father’s child sex crimes.
Gareth Christofi, a Sydney Magistrate ruled that Hillsong Church pastor Brian Houston, 69, was not guilty of trying to conceal his father’s child sexual abuse crimes, according to CBS News. Christofi found that Brian Houston was justified in his belief that Brett Sengstock, his father Frank Houston’s victim, did not want the crime reported.
“I want to express my sadness to Brett Sengstock,” Brian Houston said. “Genuine sadness about what my father did to him and all his victims. He was obviously a serial pedophile. We probably will never know the extent of his pedophilia.”
Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston was ruled not guilty of an Australian charge of concealing his father’s child sex crimes. https://t.co/feI8IevCr6
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 17, 2023
Sengstock testified in the trial that he had never specified to Brian Houston to not report the sexual abuse, adding to reporters that the court’s verdict faulted him for the church’s failure to report the allegations of sexual abuse, according to the outlet. (RELATED: Megachurch Pastor Tearfully Announces Leave Of Absence After Messaging Woman On Social Media)
“Frank Houston was no pioneer for Christianity,” Sengstock said. “His legacy remains a faded memory of a pedophile.”
Brian Houston was allegedly made aware of his father’s sex crimes in 1999 regarding a then 7-year-old Sengstock, according to the outlet. After confessing, Frank Houston was defrocked from his position and died in 2004.
Prosecutor Dareth Harrison pointed out that Brian Houston had a convenient excuse to not report the sexual abuse, arguing that he had also used vague language when referring to his father’s abuse and defrocking. Christofi defended Brian Houston’s use of euphemisms, saying that his meanings were known when referencing his father, according to the outlet.
“A lot of people’s lives have been tragically hurt and for that, I’ll always be very sad,” Brian Houston said. “But I’m not my father.”
In August 2021, Brian Houston was charged with concealing his father’s child sex crimes. Since then, the pastor most recently resigned from his position in 2022 amid multiple allegations of misconduct, according to the New York Post.