But the lengthy legal process - going through the magistrates court and the County Court to the Court of Criminal Appeal which ultimately culminated in Pell’s successful appeal to the High Court - is a pointer to how hard the charges might be fought, and the pressure that may come upon the police and the DPP.
The charges Houston faces are very different from those which led to the now-overturned conviction of Cardinal George Pell. They may be able to argue that the Parliament has now clarified the intention. Hillsong and Houston have always offered this as the reason for not reporting Frank Houston to the police. In 1999 the law said merely that it was possible to have a “reasonable excuse” without giving specific reasons. That’s how the law stands under an amendment in 2018. “Strong evidence of what the accused knew, the information or evidence they held, or what they should have known if they’d put their mind to it, is a prerequisite,” Bradley wrote.Īdded to this is that the law provides a “reasonable excuse” to not pass on information to police if the victim is an adult at the time the information becomes known, and that victim does not want the police involved.
High stakes for prosecutorsĬrikey legal expert Michael Bradley says that because the crime of concealment (under section 316A of the NSW Crimes Act) has many elements, it is hard to prove. Houston has been a “responsible person” on several of these, notwithstanding the McClellan royal commission into child sex abuse which concluded he had failed to pass on information about his father’s crimes to police. Oddly, the charities commission has no power to remove a “responsible person” from a class of religious charities known as “basic religious charities”. Does it add up to dishonesty under the Corporations Act to conceal information from the police? That might be up for debate. The crime of concealment carries a potential five-year sentence, depending on the seriousness of the abuse that was concealed. Under the Corporations Act you cannot be a company director if you are convicted of an offence that involves dishonesty and is punishable by at least three months’ jail. There are 19 Hillsong entities registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission (ACNC), where they enjoy a variety of tax breaks. Houston is a director of a maze of Hillsong enterprises. Then there’s the threat it poses to the corporate behemoth that the church has become. Hillsong is Houston in a way that doesn’t feature in other churches. The massive Hillsong enterprise, locally and globally, is built entirely around him and his wife, Bobbie. If found guilty the consequences would be immense. What do we know, and what can we say, about the charges against Scott Morrison’s spiritual mentor? Read More