Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston acquitted of covering up father’s child sex crimes

By Angus Watson and Heather Chen, CNN

Sydney (CNN) — A Sydney court on Thursday acquitted the founder of global megachurch Hillsong of covering up child sexual abuse committed by his father in the 1970s.

The Downing Centre Local and District Court ruled that Brian Houston, 69, had followed the wishes of his father’s victim Brett Sengstock by not reporting the crimes to police.

He was acquitted on one charge of concealing an indictable offense.

“A lot of people’s lives have been tragically hurt, and for that I’ll always be very sad. But I am not my father. I did not commit this offence,” Houston told reporters outside court on Thursday.

Magistrate Gareth Christofi said there was “little doubt” Houston knew Sengstock did not want to report the abuse and “therefore had a reasonable excuse for not bringing the matter to the attention of police.”

Sengstock, who waived his right to anonymity and was present in court for the verdict, previously told the trial that from the age of 7 he was repeatedly raped by Houston’s father, pastor Frank Houston.

“Frank Houston was no pioneer for Christianity. His legacy remains a faded memory of a pedophile. Regardless of today’s outcome, I have received a life sentence,” Sengstock said after the verdict was read.

Brian Houston learned of the abuse decades later and informed Church leaders but did not tell police. His father admitted the abuse and was defrocked, but was never charged and died in 2004.

Houston maintained in court that he did not report the abuse to authorities because by the time he found out in 1999, Sengstock was an adult and did not want the police involved.

Influential figure

One of Australia’s most influential religious figures, Brian Houston was born in Auckland, New Zealand.

He founded the Hills Christian Life Centre with his wife Bobbie in Sydney in 1983, which grew into the Hillsong megachurch.

Known for its extravagant worship conferences and popular contemporary Christian music, Hillsong operates in 30 countries, from the United States and the United Kingdom to Russia, Indonesia and Japan.

Houston stepped down as Hillsong’s global senior pastor in January last year after police charged him with concealing his father’s crimes.

He later resigned over a separate internal church investigation that found he had breached its code of conduct by engaging in inappropriate behavior toward two women.

In a statement to CNN following the verdict Thursday, Hillsong said it “acknowledged the decision of the court.”

“Our prayer is that those impacted deeply and irrevocably by the actions of Frank Houston will find peace and healing and that our former senior pastor Brian Houston and his family can look to the future and continue to fulfill God’s purpose for their lives,” the statement read.

The church has previously distanced itself from Frank Houston. In a statement published in August 2021, it said it “was never involved in or a party to the matter” of the abuse allegations against him.

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