April 1, 2023
During the 1960s to 1970s, Frank sexually abused a lot of boys. No one knows how many. Not even his son Brian.
Frank is Frank Houston founder of Hillsong.
Frank in the 1960s
Frank’s known boy sexual abuse victims from the 1960s to 1970s:
Brett Sengstock in Sydney, Australia
David Lindner in Cudlee Creek, South Australia. Early 1970s.
Peter Fowler at Lower Hutt AOG, New Zealand. 1970s.
ANZ1 who suicided. Auckland,New Zealand. 1970s.
Six Lower Hutt AOG boy victims. 1960s to 1970s.
Gerald at Lower Hutt AOG. 1970s.
New Zealand Maori boys. During rural evangelistic crusades. 1960s to 1970s.
Boys in Salvation Army orphanages. New Zealand 1940s to 1950s.
Countless more
Was Brian sexually abused during this period?
From the evidence, Frank had a dual personality.
Dual personality
Jackal and Hyde personality
People like Frank who have two distinct personalities, one good and one evil, were labelled having a “Jackal and Hyde” personality, when I was young in the 1960s to 1970s.
Switching personalities
Such people switch personalities in a instant.
Dave Sayers
My friend Dave Sayers was sexually abused by Frank in his church office in Darlinghurst, Sydney aged in his 30s. Many years ago, Dave provided an account of this abuse to me to publish on this blog-site.
Dave Sayers:
“Frank said “Let’s pray”, and then what happened sends chills up my spine today knowing what he did to many young boys including the very brave ones who have come forward on your site.
Frank was sitting opposite me and he moved forward very quickly, like a pouncing spider,
making me feel very uneasy and an invasion of my personal space, wandering hands all over me, rubbing the tops of my thighs vigorously for longer than a short time and face to face very close.
I remember his eyes as you say, black as night.
Your vivid accurate description of a rock spider pouncing would be the way I would describe this incident.”
Brett Sengstock
Brett Sengstock described Frank’s abuse of him to the Royal Commission in 2014.
Brett Sengstock:
David Cowdrey
David Cowdrey was known as WNZ1 until recent years when he came out on his own, like Brett Sengstock did, as a Frank boy victim.
David Cowdrey’s story, as he told it to me in an email in October 2014:
“Hi Donald
A bit about me…I went to Teachers College from 72-74 (attending Varsity part time) before Teaching for a year and a half then living a hippie lifestyle.
AB and I hung around Wellington together in the 70’s, walking the fine line between sin, repentance and sainthood. I’m afraid sex and drugs got the better of me for a time. I also hung around up at Kapiti during the late ‘70s with AB. He was (edit) a very close friend.
Here is my story.
I discovered your blog earlier this year when working through childhood trauma with my counsellor. It was very helpful in providing background to my journey, enabling me to finally admit to myself that Frank was my abuser.
I’m 60 years old and the impact of the abuse involving Frank in my life has been significant. Despite appearing to be a successful corporate manager, I couldn’t sustain the facade. Inside I lived with fear, mistrust, anger and shame. I was depressed, lonely and isolated.
I sought comfort from my pain in unhelpful ways, compulsively pursuing and becoming involved in one relationship after another, sometimes having more than one sexual or emotional liaison at a time. I lived my life in compartments and feeling completely shut off from myself, God, my family and friends.
My broken life is testimony to the selfish acts of the sicko creep Frank Houston on an innocent boy.
From the age of five into my teens I attended Lower Hutt AOG with my family.
My encounter with Frank was when I was 8 years old.
My family lived in a Wellington suburb and my parents held a Saturday night prayer meeting which folk from Lower Hutt AOG attended.
Frank attended a few times and it was during these visits that the abuse occurred.
When I read of AHA’s experience in the Commission’s transcript, the details in the description brought everything back. I finally knew deep within me the true horror of what had happened all those years ago.
I recall feeling the weight of Frank on me, the breath in my face and my genitals being fondled.
I was completely paralysed with fear.
I could not speak. I was totally bewildered as to what was going on.
I remember this happening 2 or 3 times.
I tried to explain to my parents what had happened to me. I did not have the words to explain it.
They thought it was a nightmare. I knew differently.
I named this thing ‘the black shadow’.
I took a piece of wood to bed with me every night so I could defend myself or knock on the wall to alert my parents.
The problem was that when ‘the black shadow’ entered my room I was so fearful I could do nothing.
The incidents were not prolonged (although at the time the groping seemed to go on forever!).
I have come to realise that Frank would have excused himself to ‘use the bathroom’ and took a detour via my bedroom on the way.
I believe these incidents would have occurred more if my family hadn’t moved to Lower Hutt in 1962.
The prayer meetings were then held at the church and I don’t recall Frank visiting my home again.
I recently asked my father about the ‘incident’ with Peter Fowler in Lower Hutt where Frank had been accused of abuse. He said it was beyond his comprehension that Frank could have been guilty. He thought at that time, in his naivety that it was an ‘attack of the devil’. He was partly right – the devil was Frank!
A ‘minor’ incident occurred at lunch at the Houston’s when I was a pubescent boy. Frank pressed his leg into mine and had his hand on my thigh. I recall feeling extremely uncomfortable. Frank abused the trust of his children by abusing their friends. How depraved is that?
Another significant event in my life involving Frank occurred in 1969 when I was 15. I was sitting down the back of the church with Brian and Graeme Houston and some of the other youth at a Sunday night service.
We were chatting away during the sermon and Frank came all the way down the centre aisle from the pulpit and yelled at me to stand up. He then yelled at me “You fool!” and then turned to the congregation and continued saying “Fools like you are tools of Satan! I curse you!” He was in an absolute rage.
I still feel the pain and shame of that moment now – 45 years later. Not only was Frank a pervert he was a bully! All my life, from this moment forward I was filled with anxiety and unable to be direct with anyone in authority for fear of being shamed and/or humiliated.
Then the Jesus Hippie thing came along with lots of hugging. Frank would seek out young men to embrace. It was creepy. I still remember him pushing his crotch into me as we embraced in ‘brotherly love’!
Frank the Paedophile was a liar, full of cunning and deceit.
He was a very scary controlling man.
I am sure there are many more victims out there – both children and young adult. I suspect a number of people I knew in my teens and early twenties were victims of Frank.
My wife emailed Brian Houston in 2009 when I uncovered and told her of my abuse. He responded in a supportive way stating he had no knowledge of the abuse but that I was welcome to contact him to discuss it. I have not taken him up on his offer.
I have been granted long-term counselling stemming in part from my childhood abuse experience. I also attend a 12 Step programme which is helping repair my brokeness. I am lucky I have a supportive wife and family which I nearly lost.
I turned away from God for a long time. I am slowly learning to trust God with my life.
I remain angry about what Frank did. I still struggle to find a place of forgiveness in my heart for him.
Maybe Frank didn’t have this verse in his Bible…
But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea. Matthew 18:6.
Thanks Donald, for bringing the abuses of Frank to light.
Keep up the campaign.
Truth always wins in the end.”
David Lindner
David Lindner (SA1) in 2012:
“I was a boy, going to many meetings and camps where Frank ministered as guest speaker.
“The first time Frank touched me was in a shower. I was showering and he pushed aside the flimsy curtain and stepped in and fondled me.
I know money doesn’t fix anything but it can help victims get help and Hillsong is is more than able to afford this. They sure came up fast and quietly with hush money.”
The second time was in the dorm. My bed was close to the back end on the bottom. He came to the bunk, sat down and masturbated me and had me touch him over his clothes.”
“Frank was so highly thought of by my parents and the whole church. I was afraid to say anything against him even though I knew that what happened was not normal. I also thought I was the only person this was happening to.”
“I will need further counselling as time goes on. There are times when I’m pretty fragile, having lost my family as part of the fall-out of my roller coaster life.”
“I was a boy, going to many meetings and camps where Frank ministered as guest speaker.
I know money doesn’t fix anything but it can help victims get help and Hillsong is is more than able to afford this. They sure came up fast and quietly with hush money.”
ANZ1
Frank boy victim ANZ1’s brother Adam on Frank Houston and his brother’s suicide on October 9, 2014:
“In the early 70’s Frank was in Auckland and after a service he invited my brother back to his hotel to give him prayer time for his depression…
5 years later my brother told me what happened that night at the hotel room and how it shattered his belief in humanity and spirituality…
My brother committed suicide a few years later and I do put a lot of the blame at Frank’s feet for that.
For a few years after I was tempted to travel to Sydney and take his life.”
Was Brian Houston sexually abused by his father Frank as a boy?
There is a very high probability that Frank sexually abused Brian and his brother Graeme as boys. This would have been in the 1960s.
There is a special place in hell for people who prey on their own children
“There is a special place in hell for people who prey on their own children.
The people who take responsibility for the care of a child and then breach that sacred trust are so deeply sadistic it defies understanding.
A father or mother who abuses their child and encourages others to abuse them are beyond reason and beyond forgiveness. They are beyond all definitions of what is human and humane.
If you touch children, you are a vile criminal. If you touch your own children, you are a deviant of the highest order.”
donaldelley 