The silence of our lambs by the providers in disabilities when our vulnerable children are harmed, and the silence in institutions like churches - when wrong is done...
In NSW according to LY Lawyers - "concealing a serious indictable offence falls under SECT 316 of the CRIMES ACT 1900. According to (1) of this Act, if a person knows or believes another person has committed a serious indictable offence and has information which might be of material assistance in securing the apprehension of the offender or the prosecution or conviction of the offender for it fails without reasonable excuse to report it to the police or other appropriate authority, that other person is liable to imprisonment for 2 years.
Under this SECT 316 (2) of this Act, a person who solicits, accepts or agrees to accept any benefit for himself or herself or any other person in consideration for doing anything that would be an offence under subsection (1) is liable to imprisonment for 5 years.
When it comes to concealing an indictable offence, a person does not need to actually witness the commission of the offence for someone to qualify to be charged. However, they must have knowledge rather than just a suspicion of it."
The recent news on church leader Brian Houston facing charges for concealing the his father’s abuse (Frank) of up to nine boys, is a shocker…Brian is the founding Pastor with his wife Bobby of the Hillsong Pentecostal church in Sydney, another biggie much like the C3 churches who also has brought books out on how to make money, so another one of the prosperity culture running through the popular Pentecostal youth type churches.
Brian Houston is in Mexico preaching and the Australian Police want to extradite him back here for concealing what his father did when he could have reported it to the police. Why Brian is in Mexico seems strange, living in America for the last several months in a pandemic when we in Sydney and many places of Australia are locked down, to do ‘preaching’ it appears he has residency there too – is he hiding out from what he knew he would get in trouble for?
A daily telegraph article (Hunter,Chung and Smith August 6th 2021) notes the police commissioner calling Houston a hypocrite for going off to America in the middle of a pandemic when none of us here in Australia are allowed to go anywhere outside our borders or Australia during the lockdown. Somehow Houston dodged the rules and got out of Australia leaving his church behind. How did he get the exemption? He’s friends with the PM of Australia too lucky him.
The article also notes that Houston told the royal commission he did not report it to the police because he thought the victim was old enough to do it himself. What a cop out. However, his church also issued a statement saying that the victim did not want it reported to the police but the victim denies that he said that at all. So it depends on who is lying and most victims of abuse have to get the courage to report the abuse since it can be humiliating to do so.
If you fail to report a crime that you know about for sure, or has been told to you or you saw it and knew of it an action of abuse, assault, violence on a vulnerable person you are culpable to being charged for concealing the crime, and you are party to that crime too when allowing it to continue by not reporting it and you are protecting the perpetrator and not helping the victim when your testimony could have. Morally, you have a duty to report what you know otherwise you are condoning it and letting the perpetrator hurt more people. Particularly in places and institutions like the Churches it gets hidden because people look up to their leaders. Maybe they should stop worshipping the human leaders and worship the God they claim to love! They will be tested on it for sure.
A leader of a church or any organization even more so as the people look to them for protection and leadership and help especially the vulnerable. If the vulnerable are hurt and a person knows about it but omits to report it to the law they themselves have broken the law.
Similarly in disabilities when managers, workers, and CEOs know someone has done abuse to a disability person and hides it they are accessory to it, and culpable and they are also guilty of withholding the truth. That is why they always say they don’t know anything about because they know if they did know something about it they are expected by law to report the incident. Even though providers say reporting is mandatory in disabilities and in their policies, they don’t report the truth of what happens or the incident or don’t report it at all. The providers say they have a no abuse policy yet abuse is allowed to occur. They just pretend it didn’t.
Many disability providers lie to cover themselves just like many times in the churches to protect each other and the victims are left unprotected first and then without justice secondly. It is a great injustice when people cover up crimes against those who cannot defend themselves, those with disabilities who cannot talk and those who are children who cannot stand up to abuse or are silenced.
When they have no voice, those who are witnesses could be their voice but they do not because they do not want to be culpable so the innocent who become victims are left without a voice and without a hope of any justice. It is so wrong and it must be addressed and those who will over up crimes will pay themselves one day. It stands to reason. Frank Houston was charged in his latter years in his 80s and we should not be feeling sorry for him but his victims, why pity the abuser? He took his position of power as a pastor and used it to exploit and harm those who were in his care as a pastor.
Those who knew about it should have reported it. Maybe all the leaders of Hillsong who knew should be charged then if the church claims as it did that many knew about it. Why are they not all in trouble? What you think you are above the law? You are not, and even according to God’s law abuse is wrong and covering up sins is wrong. Hurting the young is wrong and strong judgement in the words of Jesus there too. Judgement begins with the house of God. NO one should get away with doing abuse or violence to another person especially an innocent who is younger and cannot stand up for themselves. The disparity power between young people and an older man who is a pastor is great. How could the victims tell anyone? They are on a back foot they need justice now for their lives being ruined.
Similarly in disabilities the money is the main reason for everything to providers of the big organizations and they appear to successfully hide any incidents of harm by saying they have no knowledge of it. By doing that they allow our vulnerable disability children and adult children or siblings to continue to be assaulted, abused or harmed with no justice ever being delivered. No criminal investigation because the workers shut up about it and the managers and CEOs come out with their little narratives and lies again and again. The only way to get true evidence is cameras in disabilities which is why the providers don’t want them.
Parents of children who are harmed are ignored and bullied by providers when they try to defend their child or ask how the incident happened. It is explained away by providers making out that your child did it to himself or herself, or they don’t know what happened??? While they were caring for our vulnerable son or daughter apparently he or she can be harmed and the workers don’t know how it happened. They have concealed the truth and are guilty of letting a crime against our children be done without justice being given. The blood of those who die in care when it could have been prevented or they were purposely neglected rests squarely on the providers and their CEOs executives and all the rest who don’t give a damn and need to be shaken up and face the law. One day they will.
How nice the person is, or leader makes no difference if they are hurting the vulnerable in their care secretly. I knew Frank Houston to, I went to his meetings when he came to NZ and we also met him in Sydney when I came to do a dance seminar for the churches through Phil Pringle. Frank introduced us to his wife and my first child was two years old and running around their bookshop he told us his son Brian was starting a church a big church and he was very proud of Brian and Bobby. The fame and adulation can go to your head when you’re a leader and you think you can get away with anything. Gee it sounds like the mafia now. They love their kids and wives but have no qualms about hurting other people (Frank Houston) and breaking the law. They are a law unto themselves. Then cover it up when they find out something that is wrong their family is doing or their leaders. You can sing all the nice choruses you like but if you do wrong to people or hurt those who cannot protect themselves one day you will face the music in court.
Similarly in disabilities the managers and providers appear nice until we make them accountable for the money they steal from your child’s NDIS funds as I found, or the harm they allow to our children. Then they are not so nice then, and turn into bullies who think they can get away with anything they do because the power has also gone to their heads. The CEO wanted me to stop sending pics of the bruises on my sons arms to the accounts at NADO. Why? They like to keep things quiet even in their own organizations! For shame one day they will pay. Parents must see to that and call them out on their wrongdoings against our disability children and adult children. We must not remain silent because our children have no one else working for their benefit and best interests at all.
It was good at least in the case of Frank Houston’s crimes, that the victims were listened to by police without the cameras – why is that? because they had a voice even though they have to wait until they can talk about it – the abuse - after being traumatized it takes time to be able to talk. Trauma can make you freeze up and not being to speak about what has happened to you. There needs some time for healing.
Our children in disabilities literally cannot talk about it because they cannot speak. Parents then are traumatized by what has happened to their child and the betrayal of the lying by the workers or people of the organization involved also is a shock as you expected them to care when actually it’s the money they care about in the end.
Parents become frozen with trauma and unable to speak when their disability child is attacked, injured or abused, finding no one will listen as the providers quickly cover their crimes up and parents thinking they have no rights. When in fact you do have a right as a parent to speak up and defend your child and call out the provider. Don’t let them win with their intimidation or pretence of no knowledge of what happened. Your child has a right to be free from harm and fear, and you have a right to protect and defend them. By law. How dare the providers let the disability persons in their care, young or old get hurt and pretend it never happened to cover their own backs, and their reputations. How dare this society allows a justice system that does not value, listen to or take care of our vulnerable innocent ones! We the parents must step up as there is need to change the laws and make them stronger so that our children have a chance of protection from harm and of justice. WE need the cameras in there for that justice and investigation because even though providers can be charged for failed duty of care, it rarely happens, due to the lies and cover up and we need the evidence to get them charged or for the police to listen in the first place. Bottom line those who do the crime and those who cover it up deserve the two years in prison for the trauma they created for the child and the parents by not reporting who did it. They are as guilty as the perpetrator and deserve time in prison.
All the best
Anndrea x

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