(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . A Trump "spiritual advisor" resigns after admitting the "young lady" he molested was 12 years old [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-06-18 Robert Morris has resigned as the senior pastor of the Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas. He got the heave-ho after it turned out that the “young woman’ he previously admitted to having an “inappropriate relationship” with when he was in his early 20s was, in fact, 12 years old. No one will be surprised that Trump once said Morris was his ‘spiritual advisor.’ I do not know what advice he gave Trump, but they would have had plenty to talk about as confessed or proven fellow rapists. Morris had admitted to having had an inappropriate relationship with the pubescent girl, but he called it no biggie. He dismissed it as a “moral failure,” In an interview with The Christian Post last week, he put it thus (the reader should substitute ‘criminal’ for ‘inappropriate.’): "When I was in my early twenties, I was involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady in a home where I was staying. It was kissing and petting and not intercourse, but it was wrong. This behavior happened on several occasions over the next few years. In March of 1987, this situation was brought to light, and it was confessed and repented of. I submitted myself to the Elders of Shady Grove Church and the young lady’s father. They asked me to step out of ministry and receive counseling and freedom ministry, which I did. Since that time, I have walked in purity and accountability in this area." The so-called "young lady" does not remember the events that way. Cindy Clemishire called Morris’s actions an unwanted assault. She told the Wartburg Watch that the 20-year-old, married father came into her bedroom on Christmas Night and touched her breasts and genitals as she lay on the bed. In her words, “I was 12 years old. I was a little girl. A very innocent little girl. And he was brought into our home. He and his wife, Debbie, and their little boy, Josh, and trusted and preached at the church that my dad helped start and then began grooming all of us to do this, which took me decades to wrap my brain around as an adult. “It went on for many years. He says there was no sexual intercourse, but he did touch every part of my body and inserted his fingers into me, which I understand now is considered a form of rape by instrumentation. I was an innocent 12-year-old little girl who knew nothing about sexual behavior.” The assaults continued for more than four years. Then, after Cindy turned 16, she said Morris tried to have intercourse with her. Clemshire’s father found out and threatened to call the Sheriff, if the Head Pastor of the Shady Grove Church (‘Shady' is appropriate) did not throw Morris out on his ass. The Pastor agreed to suspend Morris for two years. After his time out, church management welcomed him back with open arms. Shady Grove eventually became Gateway Church. And Morris made his career there. What the fuck is the matter with these people? A member of the Church commits a four-year+ crime against a child, and no one calls the police? Then they let a child-abusing sex criminal back into a position of trust and authority? Debbie Morris, Robert’s wife, added to Cindy’s shame and punishment by calling up the victim of her husband’s criminality and saying that she “forgave her.” This blame-shifting is nuts. The Board of Elders of the Gateway Church issued an announcement with all the ass-covering, unctuous sincerity a group of religious people who sheltered a criminal can muster. In it, they claimed they had not fired Morris before because they did not know “all the facts.” That statement is unmitigated bullshit. Church management has been aware of the facts for 37 years — ever since Clemshire’s father had told them in 1987. There’s more. Cindy got a lawyer in 2005 and asked Morris for $50,000 compensation. They counter-offered with $25,000, saying she was at fault for being “flirtatious.” Statutory rape laws quite rightly lay the entire blame on the adult. She was 12, not even a teen on the cusp of adulthood. Fundamentalist Christians want an American theocracy. If they get it, no girl is safe from sexual predation. An atheist would have been in jail in a heartbeat. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/6/18/2247353/-A-Trump-spiritual-advisor-resigns-after-admitting-the-young-lady-he-molested-was-12-years-old?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/