The Multi-County Grand Jury indicted the founder of a Texas megachurch on five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child stemming from incidents that date back to the 1980s.
Robert Preston Morris, 63, resigned last summer as senior pastor of Gateway Church. The Southlake, Texas-based megachurch is among the largest in the United States.
In December 1982, Morris was a traveling evangelist visiting in Hominy with the family of the alleged victim, who was 12 at the time. The indictment alleges Morris’ sexual misconduct began that Christmas and continued over the next four years.
In all, Morris faces five counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child.
“There can be no tolerance for those who sexually prey on children,” said Attorney General Gentner Drummond. “This case is all the more despicable because the alleged perpetrator was a pastor who exploited his position. The victim in this case has waited far too many years for justice to be done.”
The statute of limitations is not applicable in this case because Morris was not a resident or inhabitant of Oklahoma at any time.
Every person arrested, charged, or indicted is presumed innocent unless and until convicted of a crime in a court of law.
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