Large Church Pastor and Ex-Trump Counselor Admits Guilt to Child Sexual Abuse
The founder of among the biggest large congregations in the United States, the pastor, has pleaded guilty to molesting a young girl in Oklahoma during the 1980s period.
The pastor, sixty-four, entered a guilty plea on Thursday in the local court on multiple charges of inappropriate acts with a child. He was given a sentence to a decade in prison, but under an agreement will only serve half a year in local jail.
He will register as a registered offender and pay a quarter million dollars in compensation.
Context of the Case
The former minister founded Gateway church in the city of Southlake, the state of Texas. He grew it into one of the top 10 largest large churches in the United States, with more than 25,000 visitors each week.
The victim, 55, the woman who came forward as the survivor of the abuse, was there in court as he admitted his guilt. In a prepared statement she told him: “There is no such thing as agreement from a 12-year-old child. We were never in an ‘inappropriate relationship’. I was not a young woman but a minor. You committed a crime against me.”
Her sibling Karen Black also made a declaration, stating: “You acted as if you were righteous, speaking from big pulpits. As you hid behind your facade, we’ve known you are nothing but a predator.”
The pastor resigned from the congregation the previous year after Clemishire made her story known. She had devoted many years seeking justice for the abuse.
Details of the Incidents
The molestation started in the year 1982 when Morris, at age twenty-one, was a travelling evangelist. He stayed with the family in their home, where he invited the girl into his bedroom.
The molestation continued for the next four-year period.
A leaked transcript of a conversation revealed that in 2005, Morris tried to bribe the victim into silence, saying to her to “put a price on it”.
Fall from Grace and Associations
The guilty verdict signals a dramatic downfall for the minister. At his height, he wrote several bestselling books and his teachings were broadcast around the world.
He also became a spiritual adviser to Donald Trump. 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 attended the church in 2020 where he praised the pastor and his leadership as “great people with a great reputation”.
