“Absolutely monstrous”: Child abuse victim speaks out against PM’s friendship with Hillsong founder
WARNING: This story is graphic.
In an emotional interview with The Sunday Project, Brett Sengstock opened up about the abuse he suffered at the hands of Hillsong pastor Frank Houston.
Frank repeatedly raped Sengstock over five years from the age of seven, and it wasn’t until the age of 16 that he broke his silence to his mother about the abuse.
His mother then carried her son’s secret for twenty years before telling church elders about what went on.
Sengstock has now revealed how it was handled by Hillsong Church founder and Frank Houston’s son Brian Houston, who is a close friend of Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
There’s been intense media scrutiny on the Hillsong Church over the way that Brian dealt with the sins of his father, which included not reporting the incident to police.
Brian is also being investigated by the NSW police for failure to disclose his father’s child sexual abuse.
“We were big in the church and had strong ties in the church and Frank Houston came over to a Christian camp,” Mr Sengstock told The Sunday Project host Lisa Wilkinson. “Then he came back to my family’s house.
“One night Frank Houston came in and climbed on top of me and started choking me and turned me over and I passed out. And he raped me. This went on repeatedly for days during that week.
“And me and Brian Houston would play on the sand together and Frank would rape me again. Late in the night, back on top of me.”
Mr Sengstock said that the abuse continued whenever he encounted Frank Houston as well as at Sengstock’s home in Coogee.
After the abuse became known in the 1990’s, Frank contacted Sengstock and offered him $10,000.
“Brian Houston facilitated the money but said something to me that rocked me to this day,” Mr Sengstock told The Sunday Project. “He said, ‘You know, this is all your fault. You tempted my father.’”
Brian has denied he’s ever said this and admitted that the day he confronted his father about the abuse was “the worst day of my life”.
”My father, you know, he did some very evil things but there is no way he tried to blame the boy. He took it upon himself,” Mr Houston previously told the Today show.
Brian said that he “did not have time” to speak to The Sunday Project, and in a statement, the Hillsong Church confirmed the abuse.
“The victim was a 36 year old adult when this abuse became known … (and) did not want Pastor Brian or others to go to the police.
“At no time did Pastor Brian attempt to dissuade anyone including the victim from going to the police.”
Scott Morrison has a great friendship with Brian Houston but has flatly refused to answer whether or not he wanted Brian to attend a state dinner hosted by President Donald Trump at the White House.
It doesn’t help matters that Scott and his wife Jenny were warmly welcomed to the Hillsong conference by Brian Houston, much to the horror of Sengstock.
“It was shocking,” he said. “I couldn’t believe the audacity. Here’s the PM of this country on stage with Brian Houston, who is currently under investigation by the NSW Police, for concealing crimes of his father and they’re up there with their arms around each other. I am absolutely lost for words.
“The national apology (to child abuse victims), what was the points in doing it?
“It was a scam. I think publicly he did it to appease all the abuse survivors in this country. As for backing it up with anything, it’s absolutely monstrous. An absolute disgrace.”