Large Church Minister and Ex-Trump Adviser Pleads Guilty to Child Sexual Abuse
The head of one of the largest large congregations in the United States, the pastor, has admitted guilt to molesting a 12-year-old girl in Oklahoma during the 1980s.
The pastor, sixty-four, entered a guilty plea on Thursday in the local court on five criminal counts 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 local jail.
He will register as a sex offender and pay $250,000 in compensation.
Context of the Legal Matter
The disgraced pastor established Gateway church in the city of Southlake, the state of Texas. He grew it into one of the top 10 largest megachurches in the US, with more than 25,000 attendees weekly.
The victim, 55, the woman who publicly identified herself as the victim of the abuse, was there in court as he admitted his guilt. In a prepared statement she told him: “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 performed a criminal act against me.”
Her sibling a family member also read a statement, saying: “You pretended to be holy, speaking from big pulpits. As you concealed your true self, we’ve been aware you are nothing but a predator.”
Morris stepped down from the church the previous year after the victim made her story known. She had devoted many years trying to hold her abuser accountable.
Details of the Incidents
The abuse began in 1982 when the pastor, at age twenty-one, was a itinerant preacher. He was a guest of the family in their home, where he invited the girl into his room.
The abuse continued for the next four-year period.
A revealed recording of a phone call showed that in 2005, Morris attempted to pay off the victim into not speaking out, saying to her to “put a price on it”.
Downfall and Associations
The guilty verdict marks a remarkable fall for the minister. At his peak, he authored multiple popular books and his sermons were transmitted globally.
He also served as a religious counselor to Donald Trump. He was part of the White House spiritual advisory committee during the first Trump presidency and was part of a campaign to mobilize evangelical voters for him in last year’s presidential campaign.
The former president also visited Gateway church in 2020 where he commended the pastor and his leadership as “great people with a stellar reputation”.
