Hillsong founder Brian Houston has been found not guilty of covering up his father’s child sex abuse of a boy more than two decades ago.

A magistrate found the 69-year-old followed the wishes of his father’s victim Brett Sengstock by not reporting the crime to police.

Houston’s father Frank Houston began abusing Sengstock in the 1970s.

Brian Houston enters Downing Centre courts Photo Nick Moir 15 June 2023
Hillsong founder Brian Houston has been cleared of covering up his father’s abuse of a boy. (Nick Moir)

Houston later learned of his father’s abuse and confronted him about it.

Frank Houston confessed and was defrocked in late 1999.

Brian Houston shared the confession news with other members of the national executive within the Assemblies of God churches during an urgent meeting at Sydney Airport.

Word of the elder Houston’s confession eventually reached Sengstock, but he could not remember who told him, telling the court “it was gossip everywhere”.

However, Houston did not report his father to police.

He faced a local court hearing beginning in December, pleading not guilty to a charge of concealing a serious indictable offence, which stemmed from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

Frank Houston, pictured preaching during his career as a pentecostal pastor, is subject to sex abuse claims. (9NEWS)
Frank Houston was defrocked in 2004. (9NEWS)

Houston argued he did not report his father’s abuse to police because he did not believe Sengstock wanted that to happen.

He also suggested Sengstock was by then an adult who could have reported the abuse himself.

Magistrate Gareth Christofi found Houston not guilty on Thursday.

His excuse for not reporting the abuse was a reasonable one, the magistrate said.

“Victims of sexual abuse ought to feel safe to confide in others without being concerned they are exposing those others to a criminal offence,” Christofi said.

Sengstock said he never told Houston he did not want the abuse reported, a point of dispute at the hearing.

But Christofi said regardless of what Sengstock told Houston, the Hillsong leader had been told of the abuse survivor’s attitude by others.

Brett Sengstock
Brett Sengstock (left) was abused as a boy by Frank Houston. (Kate Geraghty)

The prosecution said Houston had adopted a convenient excuse to avoid reporting the matter to authorities in order to protect both the church and his father.

Christofi said proving that claim beyond reasonable doubt was “a tall order indeed”.

It was also submitted Houston had used vague language when he spoke publicly about his father’s abuse and removal as a minister.

Houston might have been “euphemistic” when talking to thousands of people, but it was obvious what he was talking about and anyone left wondering needed only to ask around, Christofi said.

The fact he was speaking “widely and freely” about his father’s abuse publicly at all indicated he wanted people to know.

“That is the very opposite of a cover-up,” Christofi said.

You May Also Like

The Empire Gets Off The Couch, Waddles To Its Computer, And Strikes Back

The list of Democrat governors who treated Covid like an excuse…

Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis have affectionate reunion promoting ‘Freaky Friday’ sequel at CinemaCon

Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis reunited to promote their forthcoming “Freaky…

Japanese F1 Grand Prix practice LIVE: Up-to-the-minute coverage as Red Bull’s brutal driver change is put to the test

By SHAYNE BUGDEN FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA Published: 22:08 EDT, 3 April…

Married At First Sight’s ‘hottest bride ever’ Evelyn Ellis puts on busty display in a blue corset mini dress as she leads arrivals at Stan’s Love Triangle launch party

Former Married At First Sight bride Evelyn Ellis put on a busty…