Former Pastor Megachurch in Texas, Robert Morris, charged in Oklahoma for accusations of sexual abuse of children by the accuser Cindy Clemmonire

Dallas – A former pastor of a Texas Megachurch, who resigned after a woman accused him of sexually abusing her in the 1980s, was charged in Oklahoma for charges of sexual abuse, the General Prosecutor of the State said on Wednesday.

Robert Preston Morris, 63, has been accused of five accusations of careless or indecent acts with a child.

The alleged abuse began in 1982, when the victim, mentioned in the indictment as the CC, was 12 years old, and Morris was a traveler evangelist who was in Oklahoma, with her family, according to the Attorney General. The abuse would have continued for four years.

Cindy Clemmonire, Morris’s accuser, said in a statement that he is very grateful to the authorities who have worked to make the indictment possible and it is hope that “justice will eventually predominate.”

“After almost 43 years, the law eventually caught Robert Morris for the horrible crimes he committed against me as a child,” Clemishire said 55 years ago. Now, it is time for the legal system to hold it accountable. “

Associated Press usually does not name people who say they were sexually assaulted, but Clemishire said they would like her name to be included.

The phone numbers associated with Morris were either disconnected or the messages were not returned immediately on Wednesday. It was not clear if he had a lawyer.

“There can be no tolerance for those who sexually prey to the children,” prosecutor General Gentner Drummond said in a statement. “This case is all the more contemptuous, because the supposed perpetrator was a pastor who exploited his position. The victim in this case waited for too many years for justice to be done.”

The Gateway Church, based in Southlake’s suburb of Dallas, was founded by Morris in 2000. He said in a statement on Wednesday that his members are praying for Clemheire and “everyone affected by this terrible situation.”

“We are aware of the actions taken by the legal authorities in Oklahoma and we are grateful for the activity of the justice system in the responsibility of the abusers for their actions,” the statement said.

Morris resigned last year from the church, after the accusations appeared on the religious blog The Wartburg Watch.

Clemishire told The Dallas Morning News last year that he met Morris in 1981, when he was a traveler preacher and began to preach at his family church in Oklahoma. She said that Morris and her wife and young son became close to her family. She said she stayed at her house in 1982, when abuse began.

The church has several locations in the area. It is among the largest in the United States, according to the Attorney General.

Morris is known to be politically active. The church hosted President Donald Trump on his Dallas campus in 2020 for a discussion about race and economy relationships.

Morris could face up to 20 years in prison for each of the five accusations, according to the Attorney General. He was not under arrest on Wednesday.