A former Texas megachurch pastor has surrendered himself to authorities after being charged with child sexual abuse.
The preacher, along with his wife and son, befriended an Oklahoma woman's family and stayed in their home. However, the latter said that at the time, in 1982, the sexual abuse started, when she was only 12 years old.
Former Texas Pastor Charged With Child Sexual Abuse
The pastor, 63-year-old Robert Preston Morris, surrendered to Osage County authorities after he was indicted on child sexual abuse charges. The woman who is accusing Morris is Cindy Clemishire, who told authorities that the pastor's abuse started on Christmas 1982 and continued for four years after.
The 55-year-old woman came forward herself and identified as a victim of child sexual abuse more than four decades ago. She released a statement last week after the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office announced the charges against Morris.
Clemishire said that after nearly 43 years, the law has finally caught up with her perpetrator for the "horrific crimes" that he committed against her when she was still a child. She added that it is now time for the suspect to face the legal system that could hold him accountable, according to ABC News.
Morris' attorney, Mack Martin, has so far declined to comment on the child sexual abuse charges against his client. However, the attorney did say that the former megachurch pastor is planning to plead not guilty in the case.
The suspect was asked about the allegations last year and said that he was in his early 20s when he was "involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady in a home where I was staying."
Conducting Inappropriate Behavior
He added that the inappropriate behaviors include kissing and petting but not intercourse because it was "wrong." Morris said that his behavior at the time happened on several occasions over the next few years.
Morris is known to be politically active and his church had previously hosted United States President Donald Trump in 2020 for a discussion on race relations and the economy, NBC News reported.
Court records showed that the former Texas megachurch pastor has a $50,000 bond set by an Osage County judge and has been ordered to surrender his passport. He is now expected to make an initial appearance before a judge on May 9, 2025.
Last year, Morris resigned as pastor of Gateway Church in the Dallas suburb of Southlake after Clemishire's allegations against him, as per the Associated Press.
