Brian Houston’s Trial Is Over. In a Month, He’ll Know If He’s Going to Jail for 5 Years
Brian Houston stared intently as Crown Prosecutor Gareth Harrison summarized his case against the former Hillsong Global Senior Pastor on Friday, delivering his closing submissions and then resting his case. The trial ended months ago, and this was the last time for Harrison to plead his case before Magistrate Gareth Christofi, who will give his judgment on August 17 and determine whether or not Houston is guilty and will spend the next five years in prison.
Houston was on trial on allegations he’d concealed sexual abuse by his deceased father more than 30 years ago. He was made aware of the allegations in 1999, five years before his father passed, but did not go to the police and turn his father in, claiming that the victim begged him not to tell anyone.
As they wound down the day, Harrison insisted that Houston’s motivations for not turning in his father, which he was duty-bound to do, were to protect the reputation of the church rather than the victim. In particular, he pointed to $10,000 that paid to the victim and facilitated by Brian Houston himself, insisting that this was “hush money” used to buy his silence.
“The reason the accused failed to report the matter to the police was he was trying to protect the reputation of the church and the perpetrator, who was his father.”
Houson’s lawyer, Phillip Boulten, sees it differently. For years Houston has insisted the victim told him that he did not want anyone to know about the abuse and that “he did not want any civil or criminal action against Frank Houston. He never reported the matter to the police.” Houston says the $10,000 wasn’t to buy his silence, but to help facilitate healing.
Throughout the trial, Boulten has repeatedly appealed to Section 316 of the NSW Crimes Ac, which states that a person has a “reasonable excuse” for not reporting their knowledge of a serious crime if they “believe on reasonable grounds that the alleged victim does not wish the information to be reported to police or another appropriate authority.”
“(The victim) never wavered in his determination not to cooperate with the church or with any police investigation.”
Now, it’s just a waiting game.
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