A former pastor of a Texas megachurch, Robert Preston Morris, is expected to turn himself in to authorities in Osage County, Oklahoma, on Monday following his indictment on child sexual abuse charges, the Associated Press reports.
Morris, 63, was charged last week with five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child, according to the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office. His attorney, Mack Martin, confirmed that Morris would surrender to officials but declined to comment on the allegations. Martin stated that he expects to enter a not guilty plea on Morris’ behalf.
Court records show that a judge set Morris’ bond at $50,000 and ordered him to surrender his passport to local authorities.
The charges stem from alleged abuse in the 1980s, when Morris was a traveling evangelist. According to prosecutors, the abuse began in 1982, when the victim, Cindy Clemishire, was 12 years old. Morris had been staying with her family in Hominy, Oklahoma, at the time. The alleged abuse continued for four years.
Clemishire, now 55, said in a statement that she is grateful to law enforcement for pursuing the case.
“After almost 43 years, the law has finally caught up with Robert Morris for the horrific crimes he committed against me as a child,” she said. “Now, it is time for the legal system to hold him accountable.”
The Associated Press typically does not name sexual abuse victims, but Clemishire chose to be identified publicly.
Morris was formerly the pastor of Gateway Church, a megachurch in Southlake, Texas. He resigned from his position last year after allegations of sexual abuse surfaced.
If convicted, Morris faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the five charges.
