Large Church Pastor and FormerTrump Counselor Pleads Guilty to Child Sexual Abuse
The founder of among the biggest megachurches in the United States, the pastor, has admitted guilt to molesting a 12-year-old girl in Oklahoma during the 1980s period.
The pastor, 64, pleaded guilty on Thursday in the local court on multiple charges of lewd or indecent acts with a minor. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but under an agreement will serve only half a year in county jail.
He will register as a registered offender and be required to pay $250,000 in compensation.
Context of the Case
The former minister founded the church in Southlake, the state of Texas. He expanded it into one of the top 10 largest large churches in the US, with more than 25,000 visitors each week.
Cindy Clemishire, fifty-five, the woman who came forward as the survivor of Morris’s sexual abuse, was there in court as he pleaded guilty. In a written declaration she told him: “There is no such thing as agreement from a child of twelve. 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 made a declaration, saying: “You acted as if you were righteous, preaching from big pulpits. As you hid behind your facade, we’ve known you are simply a predator.”
Morris resigned from the congregation last year after the victim made her story known. She had devoted many years seeking justice for the abuse.
Specifics of the Incidents
The molestation started in 1982 when the pastor, then 21, was a travelling evangelist. He stayed with the family in their residence, where he asked the child into his room.
The abuse persisted for the following four years.
A revealed recording of a conversation revealed that in 2005, the pastor attempted to pay off the victim into not speaking out, telling her to “put a price on it”.
Fall from Grace and Associations
Morris’s conviction marks a remarkable fall for the minister. At his height, he wrote multiple popular books and his sermons were broadcast globally.
He also became a spiritual adviser to Donald Trump. He was part of the White House spiritual advisory committee during the initial Trump administration and was involved in an effort to organize religious voters for him in the recent election.
Trump also attended the church in 2020 where he commended the pastor and his senior team as “wonderful individuals with a stellar reputation”.
