Megachurch 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 admitted guilt to sexually abusing a young girl in Oklahoma during the 1980s period.
Morris, sixty-four, pleaded guilty on that day in Osage county district court on five criminal counts of lewd or indecent acts with a minor. He was given a sentence to 10 years in prison, but as part of a plea deal will only serve six months in local jail.
He will register as a registered offender and pay a quarter million dollars in compensation.
Background of the Case
The former minister established the church in the city of Southlake, Texas. He expanded it into among the ten biggest megachurches in the United States, with more than 25,000 visitors weekly.
The victim, 55, the woman who publicly identified herself as the victim of Morris’s sexual abuse, was present in the courtroom as he pleaded guilty. In a prepared statement she told him: “It is impossible to have consent from a 12-year-old child. We were not involved in any improper relationship. I was not a young woman but a minor. You performed a criminal act against me.”
Her sibling Karen Black also read a statement, saying: “You pretended to be holy, preaching from large platforms. As you concealed your true self, we’ve been aware you are simply a predator.”
The pastor stepped down from the congregation the previous year after Clemishire went public. She had spent years seeking justice for the abuse.
Details of the Incidents
The abuse started in 1982 when Morris, at age twenty-one, was a itinerant preacher. He stayed with the family in their home, where he asked the girl into his bedroom.
The abuse continued for the following four years.
A revealed recording of a phone call revealed that in 2005, Morris tried to bribe Clemishire into not speaking out, telling her to “put a price on it”.
Fall from Grace and Connections
The guilty verdict marks a remarkable fall for the minister. At his height, he wrote multiple popular books and his teachings were transmitted around the world.
He also served as a religious counselor to Donald Trump. He was part of the White House spiritual advisory committee during the first Trump presidency and was involved in an effort to organize evangelical voters for him in the recent election.
Trump also visited Gateway church in 2020 where he praised the pastor and his leadership as “great people with a great reputation”.
