Pastor Robert Morris resigns from Gateway Church after child sex abuse allegation

Robert Morris has resigned as senior pastor at Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, three days after confessing to engaging in “sexual behavior” with a child in the 1980s.

The board of elders at Gateway made the announcement Tuesday in a statement to NBC News.

“The elders’ prior understanding was that Morris’s extramarital relationship, which he had discussed many times throughout his ministry, was with 'a young lady' and not abuse of a 12-year-old child,” the church leaders said in their statement, adding that they had not known the victim’s age or the length of the alleged abuse. “Even though it occurred many years before Gateway was established, as leaders of the church, we regret that we did not have the information that we now have.”

The church also announced it had hired the law firm Haynes & Boone to conduct an independent review of the allegations to ensure it had a complete understanding of what happened.

Morris, known nationally as a member of former President Donald Trump’s spiritual advisory committee, had long told a story to his congregation and church leaders about a “moral failure” involving sexual sin when he was in his 20s. He did not describe the person involved other than to call her a “young lady.”

But last week, Cindy Clemishire, now 54, alleged in a post on the church watchdog site The Wartburg Watch that she was 12 when Morris began sexually abusing her in 1982. The alleged abuse continued for more than four years, Clemishire told NBC News on Monday.

“I don’t know if anybody deserves restoration to a position when they were doing criminal acts to a child,” Clemishire said before Morris’ resignation. “I believe that people can be restored when caught doing something if there’s true repentance, but when you lie about it, I don’t believe that’s true repentance.”

In their statement, Gateway Church elders expressed remorse.

“For the sake of the victim, we are thankful this situation has been exposed,” the statement said. “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.”

Morris did not immediately respond to a message requesting comment.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Mike Hixenbaugh is a senior investigative reporter for NBC News, based in Maryland, and author of "They Came for the Schools."