(AUSTRALIA)
The Roys Report [Chicago IL]
May 6, 2024
By Josh Shepherd
A woman who was sexually abused by a Hillsong worship leader has refused to sign a settlement offer by the Australian megachurch because it included a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
On Thursday, Anna Crenshaw, daughter of a Pennsylvania pastor, told reporters outside of a court in Sydney, Australia, “I will not give up my voice. This has never been about money for me, but about justice and accountability, which we’ve not received this week.”
According to NCA Newswire, the failed settlement would have required Crenshaw to sign an NDA. It also required Crenshaw to co-sign a statement saying that Hillsong had reported the assault immediately, which would conflict with her repeated statements in recent years.
A former student at Hillsong College, Crenshaw, now 26, has stated that she was touched inappropriately by former Hillsong staff administrator Jason Mays at a party in early 2016.
In January 2020, Mays pleaded guilty to an assault with an act of indecency in the Penrith Local Court. A judge sentenced Mays to two years’ probation and mandatory counseling, but no criminal conviction will remain on his record, according to media reports.
Two years ago, Crenshaw sued Hillsong Church over negligence and breach of duty, in a case recently set for a five-day trial at New South Wales (NSW) Supreme Court. The suit, which also names Mays, claims the church has “(no) policy or procedure in place for the proper or adequate handling of complaints of sexual assault.”
In a statement, Hillsong leaders said they entered into “good faith discussions” with Crenshaw last week, but the church has denied being “liable for the assault.” The statement noted: “We reject any suggestion that we attempted to prevent Anna from having her day in Court or that there were any attempts to silence or intimidate her.”
Crenshaw’s attorney, Boz Tchividjian, whose law practice specializes in representing church abuse survivors, praised Crenshaw.
“So proud of my client for rejecting a settlement that would have been ‘hush money,’” he said in a post on X. “Settlement payments are for damages the institution inflicted upon the victim, not to buy the victim’s silence.”
Crenshaw told media in 2021 that Hillsong did not relay her report of sexual misconduct to police for five months. That disclosure occurred only after her father, Ed Crenshaw, pastor of Victory Church in the greater Philadelphia area, complained to Hillsong leaders, she said.
“Everything is centered on trying to keep her story quiet for five months to try to obscure it, to try to minimize it, and to try to get Anna, I think, ultimately to drop it,” Ed Crenshaw told 60 Minutes Australia, in a program that aired in September 2021.
However, this week Hillsong claimed that the church provided Anna Crenshaw support and “respected Anna’s directions and requests for confidentiality.”
The church statement added: “After undertaking its own investigations and obtaining independent legal advice, Hillsong reported the matter to the NSW Police after notifying Anna’s representative of its intention to do so.”
The incident occurred during the leadership tenure of Hillsong founder Brian Houston, who resigned from the global megachurch in March 2022 after an internal investigation found he acted inappropriately towards two women.
“We’re not talking about a sexual predator here,” Houston told church staff at the time, regarding Mays.
Seeking justice following assault by church staffer
In 2016, when Crenshaw was 18, when studying at Hillsong College, she attended a party hosted by a Hillsong congregant.
Several church staff, including worship leader Jason Mays, were reportedly drinking. As reported by Vanity Fair, Mays “moved closer to Crenshaw and put his hand on her inner thigh.”
Crenshaw said in a statement: “When I stood up, Jason grabbed me, putting his hand between my legs and his head on my stomach and began kissing my stomach. I felt his arms and hands wrapped around my legs making contact with my inner thigh, butt, and crotch.”
At the time, Jason Mays’ father, John Mays, served as head of human resources at Hillsong. Crenshaw waited two years to report the assault. She disclosed it to Hillsong’s head of pastoral care, who reportedly told her, “I’m sure he’s very sorry.”
“There’s so much shame that comes along with these types of abuses, and victims shouldn’t feel shame,” Crenshaw told media last week. “. . . They have, from day one, tried to silence me.”
Following Crenshaw’s report to the church, Jason Mays was banned from ministry at Hillsong for a year, according to a church statement at the time. The church later rehired Mays.
Jason Mays later told Australian Christian media outlet Eternity News that the 2016 party was the “first time” he had been drunk. “In my zombie-like state, I crossed a boundary,” said Mays.
During Mays’ criminal trial, a witness, Gerald Salmon, disputed Crenshaw’s recollection of the events. Salmon, among a group of friends who left the party with Crenshaw, stated in court that Mays “did not touch her crotch. Neither did he touch her inner thigh or kiss her stomach.”
Mays also addressed the Crenshaw family in his media interview, saying, “I wish with everything inside of me that we could have resolved this differently. I wish my apologies had been enough.”
According to media reports, Brian Houston said in 2021: “The Lord has forgiven Jason, and we felt he deserved another chance.”
In February 2023, Phil and Lucinda Dooley, longtime ministers and friends of the Houstons, who pastor a Hillsong church in South Africa, were announced as the new “global senior pastors” of Hillsong.
The church’s 350-word statement noted Mays was not acting as church staff during the 2016 assault. “(It) occurred at a private gathering of friends attended by the now former staff member in his personal capacity and arranged without the knowledge or involvement of Hillsong.”
The legal maneuvering has been constant from the church, Crenshaw told media last week.
“I was seeking some justice, and I was ready for that Monday, and I feel like Hillsong ripped that opportunity from me, and they’ve delayed the pain,” said Crenshaw. “. . . despite their new leadership, they have the same tactics.”
The case, Crenshaw v. Hillsong Church Ltd., at NSW Supreme Court in Sydney, has been adjourned until May 13, when a new trial date will be set.