Court hears closing arguments in Brian Houston trial
Closing arguments have been heard in the trial of Hillsong founder Brian Houston who stands accused of covering up knowledge of his late father's child abuse.
Houston denies the charges and claims that he did not report the actions of his father, Frank Houston, when he became aware of them because the victim, Brett Sengstock, did not want to press charges.
Phillip Boulten, Houston's attorney, argued that his client had a "reasonable excuse" for failing to report the crime and should be acquitted.
"If it's a reasonable excuse now, it was a reasonable excuse then," Boulten said, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
"Just because he is ashamed of what his father did, and just because it was going to be a terrible blow to anybody who trusted him to learn about this, and because ... it was maybe convenient for it not to be prosecuted ... does not mean [Brian Houston] is without reasonable excuse."
Crown prosecutor Gareth Harrison refuted Houston's claim that Sengstock did not want to report the abuse to the authorities.
In closing arguments on Thursday, Harrison alleged that the "reverence" towards Frank Houston "enforced a culture of silence" and allowed Brian Houston to "control the narrative" in order to "protect the church and his father", The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
"It appears that no one ... when told that a very high-ranking pastor was a paedophile, none of them thought it was a matter that should be raised with the police," he said.
"On the accused's evidence, he was certain none of them said anything.
"The culture in the church, and its members, was, therefore, to protect the church from scandal."
If found guilty, Houston faces up to five years in prison.
Frank Houston founded Sydney Christian Life Centre in 1977, which eventually merged with the Hills Christian Life Centre founded by Brian Houston. Frank Houston died in 2004.
Sengstock has said he was repeatedly abused by Frank Houston in the 1970s, from the age of seven to 12.
The prosecution alleges that Brian Houston first knew about the abuse around 1999.
