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Tears of a broken man: Cancer sufferer relives the unspeakable torment of sexual abuse at the hands of a preacher whose son went on to found celebrity-backed Hillsong Church
By Lauren Ferri And Alex Chapman
[with video]
A man battling stage four brain cancer has bravely spoken about being sexually abused by a pastor for years as a young child. Brett Sengstock and his family were loyal followers of the Assemblies of God in Australia church when he was growing up. Pastor Frank Houston, the father of Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston, would sneak into the young boy's room and molest him, a horror he repressed for 44 years. Breaking decades of silence, the 56-year-old choked back tears and could hardly stomach a response when shown a photograph of the man who stole his childhood. Wanting to put a face to previously anonymous accusations, Mr Sengstock broke down in tears while recounting the horrific memories of sexual abuse on Channel Nine's 60 Minutes. Mr Sengstock, who was first abused as a seven-year-old, said that his family revered the religious figurehead as 'royalty' and would let Houston, who lived in New Zealand, stay at his family home. He and his parents were 'thrilled' to host the revered preacher while he was in Australia, and said it was like the Pope coming over. But his excitement turned to horror when, during the pastor's stays over the course of five years, Houston would creep into his room and sexually abuse him. 'He would come into my room and lay on top of me,' Mr Sengstock said. 'I couldn't speak. I could not speak. I couldn't scream, I couldn't push back, I just went rigid and I couldn't breathe, I was petrified.' The pastor would call the then seven-year-old his 'golden boy' and say he was 'special to him'. Mr Sengstock said he felt ill just looking back at the horrific memories and that Houston took away everything from him. The sexual abuse continued until he was 12, and at 16 Mr Sengstock made the courageous move to tell his mother what he had endured. Mr Sengstock was devastated by his mother's reaction, as she told him that if he made it public it would send the beloved pastor to hell. Houston's paedophilia was first brought to the attention of the church in 1990. He was investigated by the Assemblies of God, unveiling substantially more cases of abuse. But Frank's son Brian sent a letter to the churches, writing there was 'no reason' for their findings to be announced. Frank Houston would live out the rest of his days in retirement before dying in 2004. Ten years later, Sengstock anonymously recalled his ordeal at a Royal Commission into child sex abuse. It was the first time the famed pastor's history of abuse was publicly revealed. Now, knowing his days are numbered, Sengstock is hoping to put a face to the abuse he suffered for five excruciating years. In his book, Brian Houston defended his actions, but relented he could have acted 'differently'. 'Now, the skeleton of my father's sins has rattled yet again in the form of a public inquiry in which my motives and those of others involved have been openly questioned, and my integrity has been assailed,' he wrote in 2015. 'I believe with all my heart that I handled an impossible situation with transparency and honesty. 'In hindsight, would you do some things differently? Always.' The younger Houston founded the global empire known as the Hillsong Church. The church's profits jumped by more than $20million the year after Brian's book was published, most of which came from donations. Established in 1983, the church ballooned from a small communal gathering in Sydney's north-west to a global Pentecostal Christian church with supporters including Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez.
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