Texas megachurch pastor resigns amid sex abuse allegations

Robert Morris, a Dallas megachurch pastor and spiritual adviser to former President Donald Trump, resigned after a woman said he sexually assaulted her when she was a child in the 1980s.

The Gateway Church Board of Elders announced Morris' resignation in a statement Tuesday.

“Unfortunately, prior to Friday, June 14, Elders did not have all of the facts regarding the inappropriate relationship between Morris and the victim, including her age at the time and the duration of the abuse,” the board said in the release. . “Elders previously understood that Morris' extramarital affair, which he had spoken about repeatedly throughout his ministry, involved 'a young woman' and did not involve the abuse of a 12-year-old child.

The board said it hired the law firm Haynes and Boone to conduct an independent investigation into the abuse allegations against Morris, which were first made public Friday on the Christian watchdog site The Wartburg Watch .

Cindy Clemishire, 54, told NBC News that Morris first abused her when she was 12 and he was 21. He allegedly invited her into his bedroom and touched her inappropriately, abuse which continued for the next four and a half years.

“In my early twenties, I engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young woman in a home where I was staying. It was kissing and caressing and not sexual intercourse, but it was wrong,” Morris said in a statement to Christian message on the allegations.

“In March 1987, this situation was brought to light, and it was confessed and repented of,” he added. “I submitted to the elders of Shady Grove Church and to the young woman’s father. They asked me to leave the ministry and receive counseling and freedom ministry, which I did. Since that time, I have walked in purity and responsibility in this area.

Clemishire told the outlet she was “appalled” by her characterization as a “young woman.”

“I was 12 years old. I was a little girl. A very innocent little girl,” she said.

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Gateway Church was founded by Morris in 2000 and serves more than 100,000 people each weekend in multiple locations, according to the church's website.

A spokesperson for Trump's 2024 presidential campaign told NBC News that Morris was not involved in the campaign and that the former president was unaware of the allegations.