Megachurch Pastor and Ex-Trump Adviser Admits Guilt to Child Sexual Abuse
The founder of among the biggest megachurches in the United States, Robert Morris, has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a young girl in the state of Oklahoma during the 1980s period.
Morris, 64, entered a guilty plea on that day in the local court on five criminal counts of inappropriate acts with a minor. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but as part of a plea deal will only serve half a year in county jail.
He will register as a sex offender and be required to pay $250,000 in compensation.
Context of the Case
The disgraced pastor established Gateway church in the city of Southlake, Texas. He grew it into one of the top 10 largest megachurches in the United States, with over twenty-five thousand visitors each week.
The victim, 55, the woman who came forward as the survivor of the abuse, was there in court as he pleaded guilty. In a written declaration she stated: “It is impossible to have agreement from a 12-year-old child. We were never in an ‘inappropriate relationship’. I was not a ‘young lady’ but a child. You performed a criminal act against me.”
Her sibling Karen Black also made a declaration, saying: “You pretended to be holy, preaching from big pulpits. As you concealed your true self, we’ve been aware you are simply a predator.”
Morris resigned from the congregation last year after the victim made her story known. She had spent years trying to hold her abuser accountable.
Specifics of the Incidents
The abuse started in the year 1982 when Morris, then 21, was a itinerant preacher. He stayed with the family in their home, where he asked the girl into his bedroom.
The molestation persisted for the next four-year period.
A leaked transcript of a phone call revealed that in 2005, Morris tried to bribe the victim into not speaking out, telling her to “put a price on it”.
Downfall and Associations
The guilty verdict signals a dramatic downfall for the pastor. At his peak, he authored multiple popular books and his sermons were transmitted globally.
He also became a religious counselor to Donald Trump. He joined the White House spiritual advisory committee during the first Trump presidency and was part of a campaign to mobilize religious voters for him in the recent election.
The former president also visited the church in 2020 where he praised Morris and his senior team as “wonderful individuals with a great reputation”.
