The founding father of a Texas megachurch who resigned as senior pastor final 12 months after he admitted “inappropriate sexual habits” within the Nineteen Eighties has been indicted on 5 felony counts involving a toddler, the Oklahoma Legal professional Normal’s Workplace stated Wednesday.
Robert Morris, 63, who based Gateway Church in Southlake, is charged with 5 counts of lewd or indecent acts with a toddler, the legal professional common’s workplace stated in a press release.
The abuse started in December 1982 when Morris was visiting the Hominy, Oklahoma, residence of the victim, the legal professional common’s workplace alleged. He was 21 and he or she was 12 on the time.
It continued for 4 years, the workplace stated.
It was not clear whether or not Morris had an legal professional within the felony case introduced Wednesday.
Gateway Church in Southlake, which is within the Dallas-Fort Price space, is the one of many largest megachurches in the USA.
In June, after Cindy Clemishire got here ahead to accuse Morris of sexually abusing her as a toddler, Morris stated he engaged in “inappropriate sexual habits with a younger woman in a house the place I used to be staying” in a press release to the evangelical information website The Christian Submit.
“It was kissing and petting and never intercourse, however it was fallacious,” he stated.
Three days later, he resigned as senior pastor, and the church’s Board of Elders stated it had not been conscious of the lady’s age or the size of the alleged abuse.
“The elders’ prior understanding was that Morris’s extramarital relationship, which he had mentioned many occasions all through his ministry, was with ‘a younger woman’ and never abuse of a 12-year-old baby,” the board stated on the time.
A voicemail left with the church’s administrative places of work was not instantly returned after enterprise hours Wednesday night.
A multicounty grand jury returned the indictment towards Morris, the legal professional common’s workplace stated.”There might be no tolerance for individuals who sexually prey on youngsters,” Oklahoma Legal professional Normal Gentner Drummond stated within the assertion.
“This case is all of the extra despicable as a result of the alleged perpetrator was a pastor who exploited his place,” Drummond stated. “The sufferer on this case has waited far too a few years for justice to be performed.”
The indictment, which refers back to the lady solely as C.C., alleges that Morris inappropriately touched the lady, starting round Dec. 25, 1982, when she was 12, and once more on different events when she was 13 to 14 years outdated, together with as soon as when he rubbed himself on her. He additionally on one event took off the lady’s garments when she was 12, the indictment says.
Clemishire informed NBC Information final 12 months that the abuse began when Morris, an evangelist, was staying on the household’s residence on Christmas Day.
Clemishire stated Morris informed her: “By no means inform anybody about this. It should damage all the things.”
In a written assertion Wednesday, she stated she was grateful to authorities for his or her work on the felony case.
“After virtually 43 years, the regulation has lastly caught up with Robert Morris for the horrific crimes he dedicated towards me as a toddler. Now, it’s time for the authorized system to carry him accountable,” she stated.
In 2007, Clemishire employed Drummond to characterize her in searching for restitution from Morris to cowl the price of her counseling. The negotiations fell aside when Clemishire was not keen to signal a nondisclosure settlement, she has informed NBC Information.
Morris was a member of President Donald Trump’s religious advisory committee throughout his first time period.
After the allegations had been made public final 12 months, Trump marketing campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung stated Trump had not been conscious of the allegations.
Morris was not in custody Wednesday, a spokesperson for the legal professional common’s workplace stated. Expenses might be entered Thursday in Osage County, and a choose will set an preliminary look and bond.
“The Oklahoma Legal professional Normal’s Workplace will work with Morris’ attorneys for him to give up himself,” the legal professional common’s workplace stated.
The cost of lewd or indecent acts on a toddler is a felony punishable by as much as 20 years in jail, the workplace stated.
This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. Extra from NBC Information:
