OSAGE COUNTY, Oklahoma – Gateway Church founder Robert Morris turned himself in to law enforcement on Monday after he was indicted on multiple counts of indecent acts with a child last week.
Robert Morris arrested
What Happened:
Morris, 63, surrendered to officials in Osage County, Oklahoma, where he was charged.
He was released on $50,000 bond shortly after.
Court records show that Morris was ordered to surrender his passport to law enforcement as one of the conditions of his bond.
Morris’s attorney told the Associated Press that he anticipates he will enter a not guilty plea on his client’s behalf as Morris has an initial court appearance in Oklahoma on May 9th.
The charges against Morris each carry up to 20 years in prison, if he’s convicted.
Robert Morris child abuse accusations
The backstory:
The indictment says the abuse began around Christmas Day in 1982.
The document says Morris “did intentionally touch or feel with his hand… the body or private parts… of C.C., who was 12 years old at the time.”
Although court documents do not name the victim, the initials, timeline and details match the allegations made by Cindy Clemishire.
FOX 4 does not usually identify victims of alleged sexual abuse, but Clemishire went public with her story last June.
Clemishire detailed moments of her childhood in Oklahoma, where she says Morris repeatedly molester her.
At the time, Morris was a traveling preacher and would stay at Clemishire’s home.
Aside from two alleged crimes in 1982, the indictment outlines similar instances in January of 1983 and 1985.
According to court paperwork, it escalated when Morris’ victim was 13 or 14, highlighting incidents between January of 1983 and 1985 when he “removed her clothing and rubbed his clothed body against hers” while inside a parked car.
Morris resigned from the church back in June when Clemishire came forward with the claims.
She said she brought up her allegations multiple times to the church’s board of elders. When the claims became public, the board of elders said they weren’t aware that the “young lady” in question may have been 12 years old.
In November, the church says a number of elders were let go and other staff members who knew about the claims would not be allowed to become elders.
Last week, Gateway Church responded to the charges against Morris, saying “we are aware of the actions being taken by the legal authorities in Oklahoma and are grateful for the work of the justice system in holding abusers accountable for their actions. We continue to pray for Cindy Clemishire and her family, for the members and staff of Gateway Church, and for all of those impacted by this terrible situation.”
Statute of limitations
Former Dallas County Assistant District Attorney, Russell Wilson, explained that for crimes of this nature, there is no statute of limitations due to Morris no longer living in Oklahoma.
Wilson states that there have been similar cases here in North Texas, where there is no statue of limitation.
What they’re saying:
“From my prior work in the Conviction Integrity Unit with the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office, the one hand, we were exonerating people for crimes that they had not committed who were actually innocent. But there was also a need to be able to prosecute the actual offenders. And so in those cases, we had to look at the application of the statute of limitations,” said Wilson.
The Source: Information in this article comes from Osage County court records, Gateway Church, former Dallas County Assistant District Attorney Russell Wilson and previous coverage from FOX 4.
Crime and Public SafetySouthlakeOklahoma
