Hillsong students blast church over Anna Crenshaw’s assault

Hillsong students wrote to leader Brian Houston blasting the church for letting a man who pleaded guilty to assaulting a student to stay on staff.

A group of students at Hillsong’s bible college blasted the church for allowing a man who pleaded guilty to assaulting a student to remain on staff.

The letter, written by members of the student body, was sent to the church on April 13 after former college student Anna Crenshaw, 23, went public with the story of her assault while a student.

Ms Crenshaw was assaulted by Jason John Mays, a Hillsong staffer, at a mutual friend‘s home in 2016. She said she told the church about the assault in 2018 and Mays was convicted of indecent assault in Penrith Local Court on January 16, 2020.

There was no criminal conviction recorded.

Jason John Mays was convicted of indecent assault. Picture: Instagram

Ms Crenshaw, now 23, said the assault occurred a short time after she arrived in Australia from the US to attend Hillsong’s bible college.

She was only 18 at the time of the incident and was studying and living at the Hills Campus in Sydney’s north west.

“There was a group of five or six of us at a mutual friends home. Then the guys in the group started drinking, we were in college and you’re not allowed to drink in college,” she said.

“Jason asked us girls if we were sleeping over, which I thought was strange as he was on staff. Then he said you should stay after college so you can drink with us.

“After a while he moved to sit next to me and then he put his hand on my thigh and I froze. One of his friends came over and saw his hand on my leg under the table – he said it was time for the girls to go home.”

Ms Crenshaw was then assaulted by Mays.

The teenager battled with herself about the incident and finally decided to make a complaint to the church in late 2018.

She said it was a drawn out process where she felt at fault for raising the assault. Eventually, she asked her father in the US to handle the matter and they spoke to the police.

Jason’s matter was heard before the court in 2020 and students at the college were in shock he was able to remain on staff after he pleaded guilty to indecent assault.

They wrote a letter to the church leadership which said they did not feel safe and were concerned about the church’s role in putting such a man “back into a position of power and influence”.

“Before Anna’s case became public, many current and past students shared experiences of mental and emotional abuse. We are so proud Anna has come forward,” it said.

“It appears Hillsong College has not provided adequate care to the victim of this crime.

“College has not made it clear to their students what care pathways are available to them should such incidents occur. Additionally, it appears that existing pathways are not effectively structured and used.”

A Hillsong Church spokesman said Mays was not working in a ‘leadership role’ at the time of the assault but working in an administrative position within Hillsong’s music publishing department.

“We are in no way defending Jason’s actions. There is absolutely no excuse for his behaviour,” he said.

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Jason John Mays remains a staff member at Hillsong.

During the time leading up to, and after the assault Jason John Mays regularly performed with the church band – which is a highly sought after position within Hillsong.

Jason John Mays’ father John Mays has been involved with Hillsong since 1984, first as a business manager, then as head of people and development.

His father’s LinkedIn account describes him as “warm, engaging, resilient, and highly experienced Human Resources Leader & Business manager”.

A Hillsong spokesman said John Mays was “recused from any involvement with the investigation into his son”.

“(John) was not involved in any of the decisions made to report the alleged behaviour to the authorities and did not participate in any decision regarding the future employment of his son,” the spokesman said.

As part of the letter addressed to church powerbrokers, the students also asked that anyone found guilty “regardless of the court’s decision of the severity of the offence” not be allowed to be a paid staff member.

Anna Crenshaw attended the bible college while living in Australia.

She now attends her father’s church in the USA.

“Such persons cannot serve in any leadership or platform positions within a Hillsong volunteer team in perpetuity. The care and comfort of the victim within the church community should be prioritised over that of the perpetrator,” it said.

“We pray that you can hear the heartbeat of a student body who is afraid that their institution does not care for them first in incidents of sexual assault.”

A letter, signed by Hillsong president Brian Houston, executive vice president Lee Burns and principal Angela Bachtle was sent to college students on April 16.

In it, they said Hillsong was “committed to doing the right thing by the former student who has recently shared her concerns in the media”.

“We can assure you that the media reports of this incident have not been reflective of our in-depth response. Out of care for the former student, our staff took measures far beyond what is requisite and there was a diligent process that was followed,” it said.

“Obviously, we have some areas that need to be addressed and improved.”

It also said they had “initiated an independent and external review” of the employment of Jason Mays.

Hillsong said it had taken measures to address the concerns raised by the students and was currently finalising their external review.

A Hillsong spokesman told news.com.au that Ms Crenshaw’s complaint had been “taken seriously from the start”.

“After Jason pled guilty to indecent assault, the magistrate chose not to record a conviction, again while not diminishing his behaviour, facts are important and must be respected for the sake of all parties,” the spokesman told news.com.au

The church spokesman added, Mays was allowed to remain on staff due to several reasons including; stringent court-ordered requirements, the magistrate identified significant punishment already received through his employer (Hillsong) and the “low level objective seriousness of the offence”.

He remains employed by Hillsong in an admin role.

Ms Crenshaw said she was in disbelief Mays was able to keep a job after being convicted.

“One thing I think is insane, it is actually crazy, because of everything that Hillsong has been through I thought it would be done better. They come across as strong on these types of issues but when it is someone they know, the rules change,” she said.

Coming forward

Anna Crenshaw believed she should come forward about her assault after learning the teachings of Hillsong while at college.

“When I came forward I had been involved in Hillsong for about three years. I heard their teaching and believed they cared about abuse and things like that,” she said.

“I was hesitant to come forward and when I did I felt like I was the problem, not what actually happened was the problem.”

Since telling her story she said she has been contacted by Hillsong members across the world who have been in a similar situation to herself.

She said there have been at least five people who contacted her about issues at Hillsong College, Sydney and the Hills Campus.

Ms Crenshaw said she did not want to go into any more detail as she did not want to reveal anything that may identify others.

The incident, and information that others had also suffered, has changed her opinion on the mega church saying they care more about their perception than their community.

“I wouldn’t recommend people to go worship at Hillsong. They’re a great church in a lot of ways but until they are ready to be accountable, I would not say it is a safe space,” she said.

“I think they care more about how they are perceived than their congregation. It is a weird approach they have, people nowadays just want people to be accountable.”

Ms Crenshaw returned home to Philadelphia on June 25, ending her five-year-long stint of living in Australia.

She remains a Christian, and said her assault did not impact her faith.

“I learnt when I was young that my relationship with God is separate from the church. That helped me keep a strong faith in God despite all this,” she said.

Originally published as Hillsong students blast church over Anna Crenshaw’s assault