The founder of a Southlake megachurch resigned Tuesday following reports Monday that he sexually assaulted a teenage girl in the 1980s.
A woman, who is now in her 50s, told the website The Wartburg Watch, which covers news around Christian churches, that Pastor Robert Morris sexually abused her for four years beginning when she was 12 years old.
When her family found out, the woman said her father told Morris to get out of ministry or he'd call the police. The woman said Morris left for two years but later returned.
In a sermon in 2014, Morris described a curse on his life where immorality came easy to him.
The Gateway Church board of elders said its prior understanding of Morris' "extramarital relationship" was with a "young lady" and not a 12-year-old girl.
"We are heartbroken and appalled by what has come to light over the past few days, and we express our deep sympathy to the victim and her family," the board of elders of Gateway Church wrote in a statement on Tuesday. "For the sake of the victim, we are thankful this situation has been exposed. We know many have been affected by this, we understand that you are hurting, and we are very sorry. It is our prayer that, in time, healing for all those affected can occur."
The board of elders said the church retained the law firm of Haynes & Boone, LLP, to conduct an investigation of the abuse, which the woman said took place from 1982-87.
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