Australian founder of global Hillsong Church allegedly concealed child sex abuse
- Police allege Brian Houston knew that a boy had been sexually abused in the 1970s but failed to inform authorities
- A government inquiry into institutional responses to allegations of child sex abuse in 2015 found that Houston didn’t tell police his father was a child sex abuser
The founder of the Sydney-based global Hillsong Church, Brian Houston, has been charged with concealing child sex offences, Australian police said on Thursday.
Detectives served Houston’s lawyers on Thursday with a notice for him to appear in a Sydney court on October 5 for allegedly concealing a serious indictable offence, police said.
“Police will allege in court the man (Houston) 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,” police said.
Houston, 67, suggested the charges related to allegations that his preacher father, Frank Houston, had abused a boy over several years in the 1970s.
“These charges have come as a shock to me given how transparent I’ve always been about this matter,” Houston said. “I vehemently profess my innocence and will defend these charges, and I welcome the opportunity to set the record straight.”