Another week, and another prominent Christian right pastor gets outed for alleged or apparent sexual abuse. Robert Morris, the founder of Gateway Church in the Dallas suburbs, was accused last week by a woman who says he first molested her when she was 12 years old. The abuse continued for the next five years, she said, until she finally asked adults for help. At the time, Morris was a married man in his mid to late 20s.
Morris responded to the allegations with a statement admitting to "inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady," with no mention of her age. In another entirely predictable development, it appears that church leaders knew about Morris' conduct all along, but kept it to themselves after concluding there were "no other moral failures." The victim says she considered suing Morris or the church in 2005, but backed off when Morris' lawyer accused her of being "flirtatious."
