CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT

Australia’s first Pentecostal Christian Prime Minister has today been accused of sticking his head in the sand and not identifying clearly anti-social behaviour within his own religious community.

Critics say they cannot understand how, as one of the 300,000 Australians that adhere to the renewal movement within Protestant Christianity, Morrison failed to report the actions of a man he has only met in passing at a few NRL functions over the last decade.

This follows the news that the NSW Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad are investigating sexual assault allegations levelled against rugby league superstar Jarryd Hayne, who like Morrison is a high-profile devotee to the pentecostal denomination known as the Assemblies of God

A police spokeswoman has confirmed police are investigating an alleged sexual assault that took place in the Hunter region in late September.

This investigation marks the second time Jarryd Hayne has been accused of such crimes – leaving many political commentators to question whether or not his pastors and fellow churchgoers should shoulder blame for not identifying his criminal tendencies and reporting him to authorities sooner.

Hayne, who remains in a protracted legal battle launched against him by yet another accuser in the US in December last year, is one several high-profile Pentecostal Christians to be investigated for multiple sex crimes – which raises questions about whether or not the 300,000 regular churchgoers of Hillsong and Shirelive should be held accountable and vilified for not having intervened and prevented these individuals to save the cops some embarrassment.