The extent of his father's offending will probably never be known, Brian Houston says. Photo: Getty Images
Hillsong founder Brian Houston has told a Sydney court he believes his father was a "serial paedophile", and the responses to abuse allegations when they first came to light were not "all they should have been".
At the time, he thought his father was not "a danger" to the community due to his failing health and belief the offending took place within a "season" during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The admissions came during the second day of his evidence at a special fixture in Downing Centre Local Court, where he has pleaded not guilty to concealing the indictable offence of another.
It is alleged 68-year-old Brian Houston failed to report to police his father's abuse of a seven-year-old boy at a home in Sydney's eastern suburbs in the 1970s.
He denies claims of a "cover-up" or that he was aware a $A10,000 payment to victim Brett Sengstock was allegedly designed to buy his silence.
His lawyers say it was reasonable not to report the abuse claims as the victim had asked for authorities not to be involved.
Asked if he would have spoken to police if he had his time over again, Houston said he was "conflicted" about how to answer.
"Because I believe did the right thing," Houston said.
"Brett Sengstok said to me ... 'I don't want you going to the police.' I feel I'd do the same thing again."
The court has heard that within a year of Frank Houston confessing to his son in late 1999, Brian Houston learned of more complainants living in the family's homeland of New Zealand.
He said his "stomach dropped" when he was told during a phone call with a New Zealand-based pastor in 2000 that a man was seeking a meeting with him to speak about Frank Houston.
They met at a cafe in Sydney's CBD, where the man alleged he had been abused by Frank Houston at the Houstons' Wellington home in the late 1960s.
"I was really devastated again," Brian Houston said.
He told the court his father had been adamant the abuse of Sengstock was a "one-off" but he now knew that was not the truth.
Those who came forward did not want to be part of any "action" against his father, Houston claimed.
Magistrate Gareth Christofi asked Houston if he thought an investigation should have been launched to identify if there were more potential victims.
"I don't remember having those thoughts," he replied.
Houston said he had only recently been told about allegations his father abused another boy at a shelter he worked at.
"I have no doubt now that my father was a serial paedophile and we'll probably never know the extent of it," he said.
"However, there's no evidence that after that season, in the early 70s and so on, that he continued to abuse minors."
Houston said he attended a meeting at a lawyer's office in Sydney where a document was prepared for an "agreement" whereby his father would make a payment to Sengstock.
He said, however, he made it clear the agreement would not have the effect of silencing Sengstock so it "couldn't possibly be seen that there was a cover-up".
"I was very careful to make sure that it didn't reflect any NDA [non-disclosure agreement], nothing to silence Brett, and that there was nothing to stop Brett from going to the police."
He conceded he did not "actively" think a public statement about his father's abuse was warranted and he did not consider going against the decisions of the church's national executive.
He said "churchmen" were now more aware of their obligations to the community following Australia's Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
"I'm quite sure if we had our time over again there would have been a different approach to public announcements," he said.
Frank Houston was stripped of his credentials in 1999 and died in 2004.
Brian Houston's evidence before the hearing, which has now entered its third week, continues.
-ABC
Where to get help
Victim Support 0800 842 846
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Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) 022 344 0496
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