John McMartin, the former pastor of Inspire Church a large Pentecostal Church in South West Sydney, was so ashamed of a “massage” he gave to a young female member of his church that he stood down from his positions with the Australian Christian Churches.
His admissions of having given an “inapropriate” massage featured in a submission by his barrister, at a final hearing before judgment in a case before Liverpool Local Court. McMartin is being tried on charges of ‘Assault with act of indecency’ and ‘Common assault’.
Police have charged McMartin with assaulting a 19-year-old woman at his home in Pleasure Point home in January 2013. The Police evidence before the court was that McMartin put his hands down the girl’s pants, and squeezed her breasts, kissing her neck and rubbing her stomach and leg.
At today’s hearing submissions from McMartin’s barrister Phillip Strickland SC revealed the defence strategy. Pastor McMartin admits to giving the complainant an “inappropriate” massage on a night he was meant to pick his wife up from the airport. But he had been drinking too much and “opportunistically” interacted with a young woman he asked over to his house to pick up his wife.
But instead, he asked “do you want a massage?” reaching under her jacket but not touching her skin.” Strickland said McMartin “denies rubbing the complainant’s breasts or putting his hand down her pants,” as alleged in the prosecution case.
Strickland SC urged the Magistrate to find that there was reasonable doubt that “he touched her in the places alleged.” His client had given “candid and appropriate admissions which should establish his credibility.
He described the relationship between the complainant and accused as “affectionate, and friendly”, and “tactile with frequent hugs”. However, Pastor McMartin had admitted in his evidence that the massage was “opportunistic” and that he agreed that he would not have given that type of massage if his wife or a parishioner or anybody else had been present. On reflection. he was ashamed and so stood down from positions in the Australian Christian Churches.
The defence attempted to point to inconsistencies in the complainant’s evidence, which had been more detailed in a statement she made in the case than what she had told the church.
Judgment in this case will occur on December 20 at 2 pm.
Wearing a light grey suit and an open-necked check shirt Pastor McMartin appeared harried and nervous as he sat in the body of the court.
Inspire Church is a large multi-campus Pentecostal Church based at Hoxton Park with campuses at Ingleburn and Wollongong and drew 5,000 weekly at its height. McMartin was previously NSW President of the Australian Christian Churches denomination., and on the National Executive at the time Brian Houston’s father was revealed as a pedophile.
McMartin’s son Brendan was appointed pastor of the church after John McMartin stood down in late 2020.