Another day, another sex scandal for Hillsong Church!
According to reports, the mega-church’s founder, pastor Brian Houston, has been charged with concealing child sex offenses at the hands of his late father, Frank Houston, after a years-long investigation.
Innerestingly, Brian already admitted to knowing about the disturbing crimes his father allegedly committed — which occurred between 1969 and 1970 and involved a then-7-year-old boy — in a newsletter sent to his congregation over Christmas. Brian apparently learned about the alleged career-ending crimes in 1999, when he was president of evangelical group the Assemblies of God in Australia. He reportedly confronted his father at the time — but did nothing to help law enforcement convict the former minister.
On the contrary, Brian allegedly helped his dad cover up the crimes by personally paying off the victim, Brett Sengstock, who previously said he was “raped, choked and brutalized” by Frank when he was just a boy. Per DailyMail.com, Brett said the former faith leader wrote a hand-scrawled contract on a McDonald’s napkin in which he attempted to bribe him with $10,000 (AUD) to keep quiet, but Frank apparently failed to complete the agreed transaction.
Related: Brian Houston Opens Up About Hillsong’s MANY Controversies!
Instead the hush money was allegedly sent as a check in the mail from Brian. The Hillsong founder has claimed his father’s victim was the one who insisted the crimes not be made public or brought to police. Um, sorry, no. If YOU paid the hush money, YOU were the one insisting the crimes weren’t made public.
When given the opportunity to aid law enforcement, neither Brian nor Hillsong’s national executive turned over evidence concerning the crimes of the disgraced minister, who avoided charges all the way until his death in 2004 at the age of 82 — despite confessing to a “continuing problem” of sexual interest in young boys.
On Thursday afternoon, law enforcement in New South Wales, Australia subpoenaed the 67-year-old reverend by way of his attorney. In a statement received by The Post, Houston said he was surprised by the charges and was looking forward to setting “the record straight,” sharing:
“These charges have come as a shock to me given how transparent I’ve always been about this matter. I vehemently profess my innocence and will defend these charges, and I welcome the opportunity to set the record straight.”
A spokesperson for Hillsong echoed that sentiment, telling The Post the church was “disappointed” by the charges, which carry a maximum sentence of up to five years behind bars. Church reps said:
“We are disappointed that Pastor Brian has been charged, and ask that he be afforded the presumption of innocence and due process as is his right. He has advised us that he will defend this and looks forward to clearing his name. Given that this matter is now before the court, neither Pastor Brian or Hillsong Church will be making further statements. We thank all who are a part of our church for their support and prayers at this time.”
The charges come after a seven-year long investigation by Hills District police in Sydney, where Hillsong began in 1999 after merging with Frank’s OG mega-church, the Sydney Christian Life Centre, which he founded in the ‘80s.
Brian is due to appear in court on October 5. What do U think will come of this, Perezcious readers?
[Image via Hillsong Church/YouTube]
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