Megachurch Pastor and Ex-Trump Counselor Pleads Guilty to Child Sexual Abuse
The head of one of the largest large congregations in the US, the pastor, has admitted guilt to sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl in the state of Oklahoma during the 1980s.
Morris, 64, pleaded guilty on Thursday in Osage county district court on five criminal counts of inappropriate acts with a child. He was given a sentence to a decade in custody, but under an agreement will serve only six months in local jail.
He will register as a registered offender and pay a quarter million dollars in compensation.
Context of the Legal Matter
The disgraced pastor established the church in the city of Southlake, the state of Texas. He grew it into among the ten biggest large churches in the United States, with more than 25,000 attendees each week.
The victim, fifty-five, the individual who publicly identified herself as the victim of the abuse, was present in the courtroom as he admitted his guilt. In a prepared statement she stated: “It is impossible to have consent from a 12-year-old child. We were never in an ‘inappropriate relationship’. I was not a ‘young lady’ but a minor. You committed a crime against me.”
Her sister Karen Black also made a declaration, saying: “You pretended to be holy, speaking from large platforms. As you concealed your true self, we’ve been aware you are nothing but a predator.”
Morris stepped down from the congregation last year after the victim went public. She had spent years seeking justice for the abuse.
Specifics of the Abuse
The abuse began in 1982 when Morris, at age twenty-one, was a travelling evangelist. He stayed with Clemishire’s family in their home, where he asked the child into his bedroom.
The abuse continued for the next four-year period.
A revealed recording of a phone call showed that in 2005, Morris tried to bribe Clemishire into not speaking out, saying to her to “put a price on it”.
Fall from Grace and Connections
The guilty verdict marks a remarkable fall for the pastor. At his height, he authored multiple popular books and his sermons were transmitted around the world.
He also became a religious counselor to Donald Trump. He joined the presidential advisory group during the first Trump presidency and was part of a campaign to organize religious voters for him in last year’s presidential campaign.
The former president also visited the church in 2020 where he commended Morris and his senior team as “great people with a great reputation”.
