Robert Morris, the pro-Trump pastor of the Gateway Church in Texas, reportedly threatened to prosecute a woman who accused him of molesting her as a child, according to NBC News.
Last week, Cindy Clemishire, told The Wartburg Watch, a religious watchdog blog, that Morris molested her in 1982 when she was 12-years-old and he was 20. The alleged abuse continued for four-and-a-half years.
Emails obtained by NBC News show that Clemishire reached out to Morris in 2005 seeking compensation for the trauma he inflicted on her as a child, but the pastor threatened her with legal action.
“Twenty-three years after you began destroying my life, I am still dealing with the pain and damage you caused,” Clemishire wrote to Morris on Sept. 20, 2005. “I want some type of restitution. Pray about it and call me.”
Two weeks later, Morris responded to Clemishire’s email saying that he’d already confessed his sins to her father and believed that he’d “obtained your forgiveness as well as your family’s.”
“Debbie and I really do care for you and we sincerely want God’s best for you,” he wrote, referring to his wife, Debbie Morris.
“My attorney advises that if I pay you any money under a threat of exposure, you could be criminally prosecuted and Debbie and I do not want that,” he added. “If you need more information, have your attorney contact mine.”
Morris publicly admitted to sexually abusing Clemishire in the 1980s after she came forward last week. He hasn’t been charged with a crime.
Elders at Gateway Church initially responded to Clemishire’s allegations last weekend by saying Morris had disclosed a “moral failure” and has since been absolved.
On Tuesday, the elders announced that they have accepted Morris’ resignation as senior pastor of the Gateway Church. The elders said they did not have all the facts about the case including the age of the victim at the time and the length of the abuse.
