A former pastor of a Texas megachurch – and ex-Donald Trump non secular adviser – surrendered to Oklahoma authorities on Monday on expenses of kid sexual abuse.
Robert Preston Morris, 63, turned himself over to officers in Osage county, the place he was charged on Thursday with 5 counts of lewd or indecent acts with a toddler, Phil Bacharach, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma lawyer normal’s workplace, advised the Related Press.
Courtroom data present an Osage county decide set a $50,000 bond and ordered Morris to give up his passport.
Morris is predicted to make an preliminary look earlier than a decide at 10am on 9 Could, Bacharach stated.
Lawyer Mack Martin declined to touch upon the fees however stated he anticipated getting into a not responsible plea on Morris’s behalf.
Morris resigned final 12 months as pastor of Gateway church within the Dallas suburb of Southlake after a lady accused him of sexually abusing her within the Eighties.
The sufferer, referred to within the indictment as CC, advised authorities the abuse began when she was 12 years previous and Morris was a touring evangelist staying in Hominy, Oklahoma, along with her household, in keeping with the lawyer normal’s workplace. She stated the abuse continued for 4 years.
Cindy Clemishire, Morris’s accuser, stated in a press release that she was very grateful to the authorities who’ve labored to make the indictment doable and was hopeful “justice will in the end prevail”.
“After virtually 43 years, the regulation has lastly caught up with Robert Morris for the horrific crimes he dedicated in opposition to me as a toddler,” stated Clemishire, now 55. “Now, it’s time for the authorized system to carry him accountable.”
The AP usually doesn’t title individuals who say they’ve been sexually assaulted, however Clemishire stated she would really like her title included.
Morris was recognized to be politically lively. The church hosted Trump on its Dallas campus in 2020 for a dialogue on race relations and the financial system. He was additionally a member of Trump’s non secular advisory committee and evangelical government advisory board throughout his first presidential time period – and joined an effort to mobilize conservatives and evangelicals in help of Trump’s profitable 2024 presidential marketing campaign.
Morris may resist 20 years in jail for every of the 5 expenses, in keeping with the lawyer normal’s workplace.
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