🔗 Share this article Large Church Pastor and Ex-Trump Counselor Pleads Guilty to Child Sexual Abuse The founder of among the biggest large congregations in the United States, Robert Morris, has pleaded guilty to molesting a young girl in Oklahoma during the 1980s. Morris, sixty-four, entered a guilty plea on that day in the local court on five criminal counts of lewd or indecent acts with a minor. He was given a sentence to 10 years in custody, but under an agreement will only serve half a year in county jail. He will register as a registered offender and be required to pay $250,000 in restitution. Context of the Legal Matter The disgraced pastor established Gateway church in the city of Southlake, Texas. He expanded it into one of the top 10 largest megachurches in the United States, with over twenty-five thousand attendees weekly. Cindy Clemishire, fifty-five, the woman who came forward as the victim of the abuse, was present in the courtroom as he admitted his guilt. 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 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 large platforms. As you concealed your true self, 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 spent years trying to hold her abuser accountable. Specifics of the Incidents The abuse began in the year 1982 when Morris, at age twenty-one, was a itinerant preacher. He was a guest of the family in their residence, where he asked the girl into his room. The abuse continued for the following four years. A revealed recording of a conversation revealed that in 2005, Morris tried to bribe the victim into not speaking out, telling her to “name your price”. Fall from Grace and Connections Morris’s conviction signals a dramatic downfall for the minister. At his peak, he authored several bestselling books and his teachings were transmitted around the world. He also became a religious counselor to the former president. He was part of the White House spiritual advisory committee during the first Trump presidency and was involved in an effort to organize religious voters for him in last year’s presidential campaign. The former president also attended the church in 2020 where he commended Morris and his senior team as “great people with a stellar reputation”.