Key takeaways:
- Sydney Magistrate ruled Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston not guilty of concealing his father’s child sex crimes.
- Magistrate accepted that Houston believed victim did not want abuse reported to police.
- Hillsong Church released statement saying they were pleased with the ruling.
A Sydney Magistrate has ruled Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston not guilty of an Australian charge of concealing his father’s child sex crimes.
Houston, 69, was the Sydney-based church’s senior global pastor when police charged him two years ago with concealing a serious indictable offense. The alleged offense was related to the sexual abuse of Brett Sengstock, a victim of his father Frank Houston’s abuse in the 1970s.
Magistrate Gareth Christofi accepted that Houston believed Sengstock did not want the abuse reported to police. He ruled that Houston had a reasonable excuse for not reporting the offenses to police.
The ruling comes after a two-day hearing in which Sengstock testified in the trial. He said he had told Houston in 1999 that his father had abused him as a child.
The Hillsong Church, which has millions of followers worldwide, said in a statement that it was “pleased” with the ruling.
“We are grateful that the court has found Brian Houston not guilty of the charge,” the statement said. “We are thankful for the justice system and the process that has been followed.”
Houston’s lawyer, Ian Temby QC, said the ruling was “a vindication of the truth” and that his client was “pleased and relieved” by the outcome.
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