Who is Robert Morris? What to know about megachurch founder, sex abuse charges
Robert Morris, 63, resigned as senior pastor of Gateway Church in June after admitting to "inappropriate sexual behavior" in the 1980s.
His accuser has said she was 12 when Morris first sexually abused her on Christmas in 1982 during a visit to her home in Hominy, Oklahoma. He was then 21.
More: Gateway megachurch founder, former Trump spiritual adviser, indicted on charges of lewd acts with Oklahoma girl
Morris was on Trump's spiritual advisory board during the 2016 campaign and during the first term of his presidency. He did not have a role in the 2024 reelection effort, Trump's campaign said last year.
Morris had a television program that aired in over 190 countries and his radio program aired in more than 6,800 cities, according to his biography on the Gateway Church website.
His YouTube page, which is no longer online, had 80,000 subscribers and included videos with titles like "Freedom Through Forgiveness" and "Did You Know You're Made Perfect By God's Grace?"
Before founding Gateway Church in the Dallas suburbs in 2000, Morris was a traveling evangelist. The alleged crimes took place over a span of several years. It allegedly began on Christmas 1982 after Morris was invited to lead a youth revival in Hominy, which is in Osage County. He would regularly preach at the church on Sundays and often stayed at the victim's home.
The state's multicounty grand jury returned the indictment Wednesday after hearing two days of testimony in secret sessions. Grand jurors charged Morris with five counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child.
Grand jurors alleged the offenses started when the girl was 12 and continued while she was 13 and 14. The former pastor's Oklahoma attorney, Mack Martin, declined comment.
The attorney general's office said time restrictions on prosecuting sex crimes against children do not apply because Morris did not live in Oklahoma at any time.
More: Gateway Church removes elders, aiding criminal investigation: 'We denounce sexual abuse'
Morris admitted to wrongdoing after his accuser spoke out by name to The Wartburg Watch, a blog about sexual abuse within the church. In statements to the media last year, Morris said he was involved in his early 20s in "inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady in a home where I was staying."
Grand jurors alleged in the indictment that he touched her "in a lewd or lascivious manner" while she was 12, the first time on Christmas 1982. Grand jurors also alleged he lewdly touched her further while she was 13 and 14.+
He faces up to 100 years in prison if convicted of all five counts. The indictment will be filed for prosecution in Osage County District Court. Morris is expected to turn himself in there next week.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Robert Morris indicted: What to know about ex-megachurch pastor's case
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