BREAKING NEWS: Hillsong founder Brian Houston is charged with allegedly concealing child sex offences from the 1970s
- Hillsong founder Brian Houston is charged with allegedly concealing child sex offences
Hillsong founder Brian Houston has been charged with allegedly concealing his father’s sexual abuse of a child in the 1970s
The founder of the Hillsong megachurch, Brian Houston, has been charged with allegedly concealing his father’s sexual abuse of a child in the 1970s.
In a statement, the NSW Police Force confirmed detectives had served a court attendance notice on 67-year-old Houston’s lawyer about 2pm on Thursday.
The charge against Houston – one of concealing a serious indictable offence – follows a three year investigation by police in Sydney’s Hills District.
‘Police will allege in court the man knew information relating to the sexual abuse of a young male in the 1970s and failed to bring that information to the attention of police,’ a statement said.
Police began investigating Houston in 2019 after a royal commission delved into how key personnel handled abuse allegations raised against Frank Houston in 1999.
Houston will face Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court on October 5. An initial police statement wrongly attributed Houston’s age as 57.
Daily Mail Australia contacted a Hillsong spokesman for comment.
Frank Houston died in 2004 at age 82, not long after admitting he had a ‘continuing problem’ in the 1960s and 70s of a sexual interest in young boys.
Frank Houston’s victim told the royal commission that the abuse left him full of ‘shame, fear and embarrassment’ for many years.
Hillsong has grown exponentially to become one of the world’s best known Pentecostal churches, with outposts in 28 different countries.
It has previously attracted celebrity followers including pop star Justin Bieber, who has left the church.
More recently Hillsong has been shaken by scandals including celebrity New York pastor Carl Lentz being sensationally sacked after admitting cheating on his wife.
A married pastor in the US state of New Jersey resigned in April when DailyMail.com revealed that he had shared lewd photographs on Instagram.
More to come