Hillsong founder Brian Houston has stepped down from the mega-church as he fights allegations he concealed his father’s child sexual abuse.
The pastor for the powerful evangelical church was last year charged with one charge of concealing the serious indictable offence and has indicated he will plead not guilty and fight the allegations.
His matter was briefly heard in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court last week and proceedings are expected to drag on well into 2022.
Police allege Mr Houston knew from September 1999 thatxjmtzyw his father Frank Houston had indecently assaulted a male in 1970.
Mr Houston, 67, said in a statement that he would be stepping down from his ministerial duties with the church while he defends the action.
“These allegations came as a shock to me, and it is my intention to vigorously defend them,” Mr Houston said in a statement.
“In September last year, I learned it was necessary for me to step aside as a director of all Hillsong boards during this season, enabling me to give attention to these charges.”
Mr Houston said that it was in the church’s “best interest” for him to stand down for the rest of 2022 and that he needed to be “fully committed” to the preparation of his case.
He said that on an interim basis pastors Phil and Lucinda Dooley would take on the roles of global senior pastors.
“In December, during our board meeting, Hillsong’s external legal counsel gave the board advice regarding the current charge I am facing – that it would be ‘best practice’ for me to step aside completely from church leadership during the court proceedings,” he said.
“The court processes are likely to be drawn out and take up most of 2022, especially considering the backlog in the courts, exacerbated by the Covid pandemic.
“Along with this, the board and I have had detailed discussion around the requirements for leadership. We have talked about the effects of the situation with my father, which go back many years up to the current legal case, and the impact this has had on me emotionally.”
In court documents, police allege Mr Houston failed to tell the authorities, despite believing his father had committed the assault, and knowing he had information that might help a prosecution.
“Believing that Frank Houston committed that offence and knowing that he had information that might be of material assistance in securing the prosecution of Frank Houston for that offence,” court documents allege that he “failed to bring that information to the attention of NSW Police”.
The period of the charge is from September 15, 1999 to November 9, 2004, the day after Frank Houston’s death.
Hills Police Area Command began investigating reports Mr Houston had knowingly concealed information related to child sex offences in 2019.
After “extensive” investigations, detectives handed the brief to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, who provided advice before Mr Houston was charged.
In a statement in August, Mr Houston said “I vehemently profess my innocence and will defend these charges, and I welcome the opportunity to set the record straight.”
Mr Houston founded Hillsong in the Sydney suburbs in 1983, while his father was head of the Assemblies of God in New Zealand until 1971.
