Megachurch Hillsong now finds itself at the center of a sex abuse scandal which was recently revealed by a weekly Australian TV news program 60 minutes.
At least two women have spoken out, claiming they were sexually assaulted by employees of Australia’s megachurch. One, a woman who goes by the name “Katherine”, shared how she was raped by another Hillsong member.
Katherine was visibly moved and fought back tears as she recounted her alleged experience, which took place after a Bible study class one evening.
“He closed the doors and turned off the lights. I said to him, ‘What are you doing, are you okay?’ Then he grabbed my hair, pushed me into this office chair,” she said.
Katherine continued:
“I said what are you doing? Stop. No it’s not happening”, because at that moment I knew what was going to happen. He pulled down my pants and my underwear and he m ‘raped in our events office at church’
Describing her ordeal, Katherine said it was violent and completely filled with rage and hatred.
“It was the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced in my entire life,” she added.
Hillsong Church: Rape Allegation ‘Ignored’
Perhaps even more disturbing about Katherine’s rape trauma is how Hillsong Church reacted when she told them about it. She said 60 minutes that she was advised to focus on “repairing relationships” and “solving the problem” with her alleged rapist.
“He didn’t let me talk. I can’t breathe, I’m crying, I’m hysterical over this man,” she said of the Hillsong boss she told about the incident.
In a separate incident, another woman, an American named Anna Crenshaw, revealed that she was sexually assaulted by Jason Mays, a married church staff member in 2016.
“He put his hands around my waist, between my legs, touching my crotch. I was trying to get away from him but he stumbled out the door trying to follow us,” she said.
Instead of firing him, Crenshaw claims Hillsong Church chose to promote him. It was learned that Mays was actually the son of a human resources (HR) big shot at the church.
This all comes as Hillsong’s own founder, Brian Houston, recently stepped down, after being accused of covering up abuse allegations against his father Frank.
