Eight witnesses have testified against Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston in a court case alleging he hid his father’s sexual abuse of a young boy and shielded him from criminal prosecution.
His wife, Bobbie Houston, spoke about the case on Instagram, revealing that the defense could find no one to testify as a witness to his innocence. Bobbie herself has vowed to defend her husband’s “integrity, character and worth” against what she calls a “modern day persecution.”
“I’m weary of the relentless assault on this man, weary of the unchallenged, uncontained narratives left to fester,” she wrote. “I vowed to him last yr [sic] that if no one stands up & vindicates his integrity, character & worth, I will. And I’ll die on my sword if need be.”
“That might sound dramatic but I have no reason to say otherwise,” she continued. “Modern day persecution is accusatory, cowardly & appalling. Those who perpetrate it should be sued for defamation & damaging bullying, but because that isn’t the nature of Christ, we will continue to pray for you. Just remember dear ones, that the Courts of Heaven exist & no action or word or ill-intent goes unobserved.”
Brian Houston has denied all allegations against him and has vowed to fight the charges.
Houston’s father, Frank, was the head of the Assemblies of God in New Zealand until 1971, and during his tenure, he was found to have abused a number of young boys in New Zealand and Australia. Brian founded Hillsong Church in 1983 and was the head of the Australian branch of the Assemblies of God from 1997 to 2009. Once he learned of the claims against his father, he forced him to resign from the Sydney Christian Life Centre with a pension.
During the hearings in December, Hillsong general manager George Aghajanian testified that he was the first person to tell Brian Houston about the allegations against his father. Aghajanian said the church did not inform authorities about the disciplinary actions taken against Frank Houston and the abuse allegations because it was not a “current matter.”
Houston said he did not report the allegations to the police to respect a victim’s wish not to report it to authorities, but the victim claims he never told Houston he didn’t want a police report filed.
Hillsong Church initially announced in January 2022 that Houston would only step down from his role at the church’s helm for the year as he faced criminal charges related to the case. However, he completely resigned from the church in March 2022.
