A senior pastor and his church have been accused of failing to disclose to the congregation a youth group leader’s nearly decade-long reign of child sex abuse, while the regulatory body in charge of investigating child abuse is alleged to have dismissed a complaint due to links to the church.

The claims, aired in parliament on Thursday by NSW Greens MP Sue Higginson, involved senior members of Maitland Evangelical Church. The allegations include a separate cover-up involving the abuse of a teenage girl in year 8 by a second offender.

Pastor Steven Doust (left) and Pastor Roger Burgess were accused in parliament of covering up child sex abuse. Credit: Maitland Evangelical Church

“The victims and their families, as well as the wider community, have been failed by the lack of transpare

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