Gateway Church founder Robert Morris will “more likely than not” turn himself in and be arraigned by Monday, according to Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner...
During a June 2, 2018, address to his congregation at Gateway Church in Southlake, pastor Robert Morris spoke about how blood transfusions saved his life in April of that year. The church sponsored a blood drive so that members of the congregation could donate.
Gateway Church founder Robert Morris will “more likely than not” turn himself in and be arraigned by Monday, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond told, 55, publicly accused Morris in June of sexually abusing her for about four years in the 1980s, beginning when she was 12 and he was 21.called three phone numbers listed in public records for Morris Wednesday and left voicemails at two of them and did not immediately receive a response.the statute of limitations for a criminal case against him may have expired. However, Drummond said in the Wednesday announcement that the statute of limitations did not apply in this case because Morris was never a resident of Oklahoma.Thursday that Oklahoma law pauses the statute of limitations for a criminal prosecution for as long as the crime’s alleged perpetrator does not live in Oklahoma.“When Oklahoma was formulating its constitution and statutory framework, we were ‘no man’s land,’ we were Indian territory,” Drummond said. He said people from neighboring states like Arkansas and Texas would come to Oklahoma, commit crimes, and then return home.To address that problem, Oklahoma’s legislature paused time limits on prosecuting crimes committed in Oklahoma by non-residents, according to Drummond.that says: “If when the offense is committed the defendant be out of the state, the prosecution may be commenced within the term herein limited after his coming within the state, and no time during which the defendant is not an inhabitant of or usually resident within the state, is part of the limitation. “I don’t know that that’s ever been challenged in court, and I anticipate that Mr. Morris and his team of lawyers will challenge that,” Drummond said.Drummond said prosecutors from his office have been in contact with Morris’ attorneys to negotiate an agreement for Morris to turn himself in. He said it is “more likely than not” that Morris would be arraigned before Monday. “I don’t see the need, nor do I think he wants the public spectacle of Oklahoma law enforcement officers going into Gateway or his community and arresting him and human transporting him to Osage County,” Drummond said.last year. That year, she reached out to Morris seeking damages for his alleged abuse to cover the cost of years of therapy.“I entered into negotiations with Morris’ counsel to just get a simple reimbursement of her … and we were rebuffed – ‘It was her fault, she was the aggressor, seduced him,’” Drummond said. In the 2007 emails, Morris’ then-attorney J. Shelby Sharpe corroborated Clemishire’s account that Morris began to conduct “inappropriate behavior” — “kissing and petting” — with her in 1982, when she was 12. Sharpe also wrote: “It was your client who initiated inappropriate behavior by coming into my client’s bedroom.”through an employee. “It was only informational for the attorney, that’s all that letter was. He never accused a child, nor would he ever,” the employee said.Matt Kyle Matt is a breaking news reporter. A graduate of Baylor University, he grew up in San Antonio and lived in Waco before coming to Dallas. Previously, Matt has written for the Baylor Lariat and the Waco Tribune-Herald.Adrian Ashford covers faith and religion in North Texas for The Dallas Morning News through a partnership with Report for America.
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