Hillsong’s Brian Houston bought his father’s victim’s silence and did not report abuse to police, court hears

Founding pastor, who has pleaded not guilty, is on trial for not reporting his father's confession to sexually abusing a young boy

• Follow our Australia news live blog for the latest updates
• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

Brian Houston did not report his paedophile father to police in order to protect the church, and bought his father's victim's silence to stop him going to the secular authorities", a Sydney court has heard.

Houston, the founding pastor of the Hillsong megachurch, is on trial for one count of concealing a serious indictable offence of another person, for not reporting to police his father's confession to repeatedly sexually assaulting and raping a young boy who was a member of his church.

Sign up for Guardian Australia's free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup