Megachurch Pastor and FormerTrump Adviser Admits Guilt to Child Sexual Abuse

The head of one of the largest megachurches in the United States, Robert Morris, has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl in the state of Oklahoma during the 1980s period.

Morris, 64, pleaded guilty on that day in Osage county district court on five criminal counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child. He was sentenced to 10 years in custody, but as part of a plea deal will serve only six months in local jail.

He will register as a registered offender and pay $250,000 in compensation.

Background of the Legal Matter

The former minister founded the church in Southlake, the state of Texas. He expanded it into among the ten biggest megachurches in the US, with over twenty-five thousand 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 written declaration she stated: “It is impossible to have consent from a child of twelve. We were not involved in any improper relationship. I was not a ‘young lady’ but a minor. You performed a criminal act against me.”

Her sister a family member also made a declaration, stating: “You pretended to be holy, preaching from big pulpits. As you concealed your true self, we’ve been aware you are simply a predator.”

The pastor stepped down from the church last year after the victim made her story known. She had spent years trying to hold her abuser accountable.

Specifics of the Abuse

The abuse began in 1982 when the pastor, at age twenty-one, was a itinerant preacher. He was a guest of Clemishire’s family in their home, where he invited the child into his bedroom.

The molestation persisted for the following four years.

A leaked transcript of a phone call revealed that in 2005, the pastor tried to bribe the victim into not speaking out, telling her to “name your price”.

Downfall and Connections

The guilty verdict 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 joined the presidential advisory group during the initial Trump administration and was part of a campaign to organize religious voters for him in last year’s presidential campaign.

Trump also attended the church in 2020 where he commended Morris and his leadership as “great people with a great reputation”.