Trump-Linked Pastor Admits to Inappropriate Behavior With ‘Young Lady’ After Being Accused of Sexually Abusing a 12-Year-Old

A pastor Donald Trump once named a “spiritual advisor” admitted to “inappropriate sexual behavior” with a 12-year-old girl following him being publicly accused of sexual assault.

Cindy Clemishire told The Wartburg Watch in a report last week that Robert Morris, pastor of the Gateway Church in Texas, molested her when she was 12 and he was 20. She said the abuse continued for years and Morris reportedly stepped down from his ministry at the time after she told a friend.

In statements to The Christian Post, Morris admitted that he sexually assaulted Clemishire, describing it as “kissing and petting.”

“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,” he said.

Gateway Church was founded in 2000 by Morris following the sexual assault. The church boasts more than 100,000 weekly attendees.

Morriss’s description of his 12-year-old victim as a “young lady” was condemned by Clemishire herself in comments to the Christian Post.

“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,” she said.

Morris abused his victim for more than four years. Clemishire said it took years for her to understand that she was raped.

“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,” she said.

In his statement Clemishire, Morris touted walking “in purity and accountability” since stepping down from the ministry after being caught sexually assaulting a child. He claimed his victim’s family forgave him during a meeting in 1989 and gave him their blessing to return to the ministry, though Clemishire rejected this, saying her father told Morris he was lucky he didn’t “kill him.”

“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,” he said. “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.”

Watch above via CNN.