Large Church Minister and Ex-Trump Adviser Admits Guilt to Sexual Abuse of a Minor
The founder of one of the largest large congregations in the US, Robert Morris, has pleaded guilty to molesting a 12-year-old girl in the state of Oklahoma during the 1980s period.
The pastor, sixty-four, entered a guilty plea on that day in Osage county district court on multiple charges of inappropriate acts with a child. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but as part of a plea deal will only serve six months in county jail.
He will register as a registered offender and be required to pay a quarter million dollars in restitution.
Context of the Legal Matter
The disgraced pastor founded the church in Southlake, Texas. He expanded it into among the ten biggest large churches in the United States, with over twenty-five thousand attendees weekly.
Cindy Clemishire, 55, the woman who publicly identified herself as the victim of the abuse, was present in the courtroom as he admitted his guilt. In a prepared statement she stated: “It is impossible to have consent from a child of twelve. We were never in an ‘inappropriate relationship’. I was not a ‘young lady’ but a minor. You committed a crime against me.”
Her sister Karen Black also read a statement, stating: “You pretended to be holy, preaching from large platforms. As you concealed your true self, we’ve been aware you are simply a predator.”
Morris stepped down from the congregation last year after the victim went public. She had spent years trying to hold her abuser accountable.
Specifics of the Abuse
The abuse started in 1982 when the pastor, at age twenty-one, was a itinerant preacher. He stayed with Clemishire’s family in their home, where he invited the girl into his bedroom.
The molestation persisted for the following four years.
A revealed recording of a conversation showed that in 2005, Morris tried to bribe the victim into silence, telling her to “name your price”.
Fall from Grace and Associations
The guilty verdict signals a dramatic downfall for the minister. At his peak, he wrote several bestselling books and his sermons were broadcast globally.
He also became a religious counselor to the former president. He joined the White House spiritual advisory committee during the first Trump presidency and was involved in an effort to mobilize evangelical voters for him in the recent election.
The former president also visited the church in 2020 where he commended the pastor and his leadership as “great people with a stellar reputation”.
