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Brian Houston, Frank Houston, Hillsong, investigations, NSW police, police, RC, Royal Commission
The Australian reports,
Senior counsel calls for Hillsong founder to be referred to police
HILLSONG Church founder Brian Houston should be referred to police for investigation after he failed to report child sexual abuse carried out by his father, the royal commission’s senior counsel has found.
Simeon Beckett, counsel assisting the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, also found Brian Houston — who was national president of the Pentecostal church umbrella organisation Assemblies of God when he heard about the abuse — had a “conflict of interest” and never told police about his father Frank Houston’s abuse of a boy from the age of seven in 1970. He first found out about the abuse in 1999.
His submission says that Frank Houston admitted the abuse to his son and this confession could have been used to secure a conviction had Brian Houston informed police. “As that information may relate to contravention of a law … it is submitted it is appropriate to refer Pastor Brian Houston’s conduct to the NSW Police Commissioner,” it says.
The commission heard evidence that Frank Houston abused several children in Australia and New Zealand in the 1960s and 70s while at the Assemblies of God, before Hillsong existed.
The account of the boy was first made to other church pastors in 1998 and Frank Houston offered the victim $10,000, the commission heard. Months later, when the money did not arrive, the victim phoned Brian Houston, who was also a senior pastor at the Hills Christian Life Centre. The commission heard Brian Houston responded: “Yes, OK, I’ll get the money to you … You know, it’s your fault all this happened. You tempted my father.” Brian Houston denied the exchange.
Mr Beckett said in his submission to the inquiry, released yesterday, that the Assemblies of God did not follow its complaint procedure between November 1998 and December 1999. Under Brian Houston it abrogated this duty by “not interviewing the complainant to determine the precise nature of the allegations (and) not documenting any … steps it took”.
“In 1999 the Assemblies of God set aside its own policy for handling allegations against ministers, and ignored Pastor Brian Houston’s conflict of interest in order to permit Pastor Brian Houston to handle the allegations of child sexual abuse against his father,” the submission says. “In 1999 and 2000 (he) and the national executive of the Assemblies of God did not refer the allegations of child sexual abuse against Frank Houston to the police.”
Mr Beckett also found the Assemblies of God offered Frank Houston a chance to return to his ministry, despite the allegations and the fact this was against policy.
Frank Houston, who has since died, was allowed to resign and was offered a financial “retirement package”. His son was present in the boardroom of the Hillsong Church — merged with Frank Houston’s Sydney Christian Life Centre — when the resignation letter was tabled, the commission heard. In a submission on behalf of Brian Houston, Hillsong lawyer Mark Higgins said there was a “preponderance of evidence that (he) had a reasonable excuse for not reporting (the) allegation or Frank Houston’s confession to the police”. The content of the findings were not disputed, however.
Source: By Rick Morton || Dan Box, Senior counsel calls for Hillsong founder to be referred to police, The Australian, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/in-depth/senior-counsel-calls-for-hillsong-founder-to-be-referred-to-police/story-fngburq5-1227162370779, Published 20/12/2014. (Accessed 12:00AM).
Hillsong Church Watch 
In the submission by Brian Houston and Hillsong, barrister Mark Higgins states that Brian Houston does not contest the finding that Frank Houston was not reported to the police for his abuse of AHA. However, Brian Houston does contest the finding that he should be referred to the NSW Police for his failure to report Frank to the police on the basis that Brian had a reasonable excuse for not doing so, as allowed under the relevant act, because AHA didn’t want it to be reported and because AHA was old enough to report it to the police himself.
Frank Houston’s abuse should have been reported to the NSW police.
“because AHA didn’t want it to be reported and because AHA was old enough to report it to the police himself.”
The evidence that emerged in the RC suggests this not to be true.
The problem is though, because AHA had supposedly taken a stance, Houston automatically (conveniently) applied that same stance to all the other victims.
As soon as Houston was aware of other victims (and he was very early on) he should have informed the police immediately. Now he is trying to cover it all up with a plea of ignorance.
@newtaste; The excuses Brian offers in the case of AHA may hold (but shouldn’t) but the same excuse cannot be offered for the many other victims of his father Frank. !!
Somewhere along the line even Brian’s vile mind must have considered informing the Police surely, or is he more depraved than any of us know even now?
One victim could possibly be excused in the confusion and hurt and turmoil of mind but not multiple cases and victims. The cover up of multiple cases subsequently by Brian is criminal in itself.
Why on earth would brian refuse to help those many victims of his father?
I just don’t understand why he can’t be man enough or Christian enough to show some compassion. It isn’t a secret anymore, and the longer brian denies reality the worse it will become.
@thetruth; Why on earth would brian refuse to help those many victims of his father?
Because in Brian’s warped mind helping the victims would be the same as admitting he had done wrong in not informing the Police right up front.
Then there is a “small’ matter of the money involved. $10k has already been paid out, what is it going to cost to compensate all the other victims?
Better to as you say “deny reality” and perhaps it will go away.
If a class action were brought against Houston and Hillsong it could almost break the organisation, and that would not be a bad thing either.
Why on earth would brian refuse to help those many victims of his father?
I’ve asked that question before, and I find it extremely disturbing that it’s still being asked. I can’t believe it’s because he’s afraid of admitting he was wrong in not informing the police. If that really is it then I don’t know how he can look at himself in the mirror every morning. As I’ve pointed out before, a man with so much in terms of resources under his direct control, including leading an organisation with an estimated $50m+ annual revenues, and he doesn’t help these people who were children when they were abused? How about he starts by giving each one a $10 million cheque. Money doesn’t solve all problems but I think it’s unlikely that scarred children would have succeeded financially in life, at least let him remove that burden from their shoulders so they can focus on the healing process without worrying about where the rent is going to come from.
@Icarus: Why on earth would brian refuse to help those many victims of his father?
I have known Houston since high school days and I can assure you that his sniveling cowardly character has not changed one bit.
How about he starts with an apology to the other victims?
Yes, I agree with you that $10m each would certainly help and go someway towards an apology and restitution etc.
However, the moment you mention money you see Houston stagger back and close the conversation down. In his money saturated mind he will be trying to calculate the cost and will back down real quick. After all what would his mentors (real or otherwise) say? His mate Rick Warren, T D Jakes and Ed Young would all say keep the money. Remember Houston is still only a “wanna-be” in the above company as far as the cash goes.
I think you’re right kiwipirate. Brian is counting the cost of child abuse in dollars, ignoring the personal, horrifying cost of child abuse in the victim’s lives.
And people call him pastor?
Bobbie houston can post as many pics of African children as she likes..but what about these victims bobbie? Not one word.
Her ‘role’ is to be silent about the whole thing and pretend it never happened.
And people call her pastor?
You can hide behind being ‘prudent’ and ‘dignified’…but anyone can tell what cowardice is. Where’s the Christianity being shown in this? nowhere in hillsong.
There is a very large millstone hanging on both of them.
Will Bobbie ever start the fad #IllPayForYou for their victims?
Will Bobbie ever start the fad #IllPayForYou for their victims?
No. Why?
Because the victims (now) are not cute looking tear-jerkers who live in a third world country that Bobbie made a huge “sacrifice” to go and visit.
There is no money to be made on a fund raising campaign here !!
This travesty is a difficult one to twist and come out looking like the community caring heroes. However, slippery Brian will find a way……keep watching this space.
Just like Pringle’s C3 Church, Brian’s Hillsong Church in regard to both finance’s and moral issues have No Transparency ,No Governance and No Accountability for their actions. they cover up damaging issues with spin, will not disclose finances, support people who have deceived their church members ( re situations is Singapore and Korea) and refuse to answer questions when confronted with issues that are damaging to their Image within their congregations, they are Cowards !! and only worship the money which they scam from their church members, they care for nothing nor anyone else except themselves , their image and their lifestyles.