Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston pleads guilty to DUI, gets probation, other penalties

-Sentence stayed for enhanced charge

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Days after pleading “not guilty” to driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a blood alcohol content of .08% or more, Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston pled “guilty” to the charges and was sentenced to three years’ probation, a $140 fine and other penalties.

He is yet to be sentenced for an enhanced charge of driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.20% or more, which addiction experts classify as being "blackout drunk." Sentencing for that charge was “stayed” which the Shouse California Law Group explains happens “when a defendant in a criminal case asks the court to stay, or pause, execution of the sentence until an appeal is heard.”

Sentencing for the formal charge of driving with a blood alcohol content of .08% or more, which covers the enhanced charge, was stayed on April 11 when Houston changed his April 4 “not guilty” plea to “guilty,” according to records from the Superior Court of California in Orange County.

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Court records show that after an arrest on Feb. 26, 2022, Houston pled “not guilty” to driving under the influence of alcohol, driving with a blood alcohol content of .08% or more, and failing to display two license plates on the vehicle he was driving.

A week ago, the Hillsong Church founder, who was set for a pre-trial hearing in June, reversed course on the drinking charges while the charge for failing to display two license plates on the vehicle he was driving was dismissed.

In addition to the three years’ probation and $140 fine that Houston received for the general charge of driving under the influence of alcohol, the court also required that he complete a three-month first offender alcohol program by May 11; victim impact counseling by July 10; and participate in self-help meetings for a period of one year until April 11, 2024.

Houston was arrested less than a month before he resigned as global senior pastor of Hillsong Church in March 2022 following revelations that two women had made complaints of misconduct against him in the last 10 years.

The megachurch founder, who resides in Australia, recorded as having a blood alcohol concentration of 0.20% or more by weight pursuant to Section 23538(b)(2) of the Vehicle Code. 

According to the Kraut Law Group, DUI defendants hit with an enhanced charge under Section 23538(b)(2) of the Vehicle Code usually "face harsher penalties" from the court if they are convicted.

"Drivers who are convicted of the DUI and this enhancement are required to take a longer alcohol education program and often face harsher penalties," the law group explains on its website. "A BAC of 0.20 percent is two and a half times the legal limit and drivers who have high BACs are more likely to cause collisions while on the road. As a result, the California legislature has increased penalties for drivers who drive under the influence with high BACs, even if they have no prior DUI offenses."

A judge might also require defendants to "attend weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meetings as a condition of release or may even require that the defendant wear an alcohol monitoring bracelet while the criminal case is pending," the law group adds on its website.