Hillsong Megachurch Founder May Have Concealed Father's Abuse Of Underage Boys

Founder of Sydney-based Christian megachurch Hillsong Brian Houston has come under fire after being accused of covering up his late father’s longstanding history of child sex abuse crime against an underage boy in the 1970s.

New South Wales Police charged the 67-year-old pastor with concealing the child sex offenses of his father Frank Houston, then a pastor in the 1970s, and is slated to front court before a Sydney magistrate at the Downing Centre on Oct. 5 following a two-year investigation, according to the New York Daily News.

Houston has said the charges “come as a shock,” noting they stem from allegations his father had allegedly subjected a boy to sexual abuse for years, which the younger Houston contends he’s been “transparent” about for years.

“I vehemently profess my innocence and will defend these charges, and I welcome the opportunity to set the record straight,” he told the media.

Hillsong has been plagued with criticisms over the case since 2014 after Australia’s Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse heard that Frank abused multiple boys in the 1970s as a pastor. Before he died in 2004, Frank, then 82, broke his silence and admitted to the abuse.

The church has since issued a statement, expressing its disappointment regarding the charges.

“We ask that he be afforded the presumption of innocence and due process as is his right. [Brian Houston] has advised us that he will defend this and looks forward to clearing his name. We thank all who are a part of our church for their support and prayers at this time.”

Last month, Hillsong issued a lengthy statement to confirm its founder learned about his father’s abuses when he was 45, the Daily Beast reported.

The church also claims that the alleged victim had requested Houston not to approach police but reports suggest the claim has been denied by the abuse survivor.

In 2015, the royal commission found that the Hillsong founder failed to alert police that his father had engaged in child sex abuse despite his knowledge of such allegations as early as 1999.

Instead, Brian allegedly allowed his father to retire quietly before the abuse became public, the ABC noted.

It is believed the inquiry and subsequent police probes were the reasons Houston was not invited to the 2019 state dinner of then-President Donald Trump despite an endorsement from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, his spiritual mentee.