The accusation of the former huge priest Robert Morris of sexual assault on children this week has become possible by the accused of refusing to quit smoking, a new legal theory and an old section of the state’s criminal law dating back to Oklahoma’s origins on the wild borders.
Morris was a pioneering patriotic figure in the American Evangelical Movement and founder of the Gitai Church in Soutix, Texas, He accused Wednesday With five charges of obscene or inappropriate actions with a child. the An accusation regulation came by the Grand jury in Oklahoma Nine months after Cindy Clemencehire In public, Morris was accused Whoever harassed her over and over four years when she was a child in the eighties.
Clememishire was twelve years old and wore a pink pajamas in the first time that Morris said. The Christmas night was in her childhood bedroom in Oklahoma. I remembered him after that.
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After Clemishire A year has been done with her account In June, Morris issued a statement recognizing what he described as “inappropriate sexual behavior with a young woman.” A few days later, she resigned as a great priest in Gateway. After the news of his accusation this week, a gate spokesman said that the church leaders are “grateful for the work of the judicial system to hold the aggressors accountable for their actions.”
Morris did not respond to the messages asking for comment.
When I spoke last year, Clemencehire had little hope that Morris would face legal consequences. The statute of limitations of filed a civil lawsuit or criminal charges had ended long ago.
Or so I believed.
Enter the prosecutor at Oklahoma Gentinner Dramund. Twenty years ago, when the Republican lawyer was still in a special practice, such as Clemishire – an old family friend – as it is Try to negotiate a settlement With Morris because of her allegations, which she first brought to the church leaders in the eighties. Dramund said that the 2005 deal collapsed when Clemencehire refused to ask Morris to sign the non -disclosure agreement. He said that this was the end of his involvement in this matter, but the issue is stuck with him.
After Clemishire accused the headlines of national newspapers last year – help Spark Because of the delivery of allegations of sexual assault in Gateway and many other Churches in North Texas – Drummond said that the prosecutors had asked for permission to follow up on the criminal investigation, and gave it.
Dramund told NBC News in an interview on Thursday: “I myself were frankly released from this investigation and prosecution, and I was happy because the Great Presses Association believed that there was sufficient evidence to accuse Mr. Morris,” Dramund told NBC News in an interview on Thursday.
The Dromond Office expects Morris to hand itself to the authorities next week.
The prosecution runs what Dramond called a “extraordinary” application of “a very old law” that is often used when tried cold cases. More than a century ago, when the outlawed beef played the role of the ancient West, they committed crimes while they were moving between the states, Dramund said that Oklahoma and other border countries carried out a judgment that mainly stops – or fees – the statute of limitations when a person commits a crime and then escapes from the state.
Morris was a mobile missionary heralding the crowds in churches and revival throughout the southwest when he entered the life of Clemencehire in the early eighties. Like external players who terrorized the cities of Oklahoma in the early twentieth century, Morris did not reside in Oklahoma, so Dramond said that his office decided that the statute of limitations did not apply.
“Certainly, a legal court will be appealed, and we are ready to face this challenge,” Dramund said. “I expect that there will be, in the end, the precedent in this case.”
Trysey Pearl, a professor at the Faculty of Law at Oklahoma University, said that the prosecutor’s interpretation appears to be supported by the judicial precedents.
“From the perspective of politics, I think these types of judgments fulfill the statute of limitations when someone outside the state is logical,” said Pearl. “We do not want to hinder the state or prosecutors in cases where they may have a truly limited ability to find the defendant and then hand it over to the state.”
The sexual assault on the church in the church
In an interview on Thursday with NBC News, Clemishire called the announcement of surreal criminal charges. She and her family said she felt verified after years of struggle from the shock that Morris was exposed to as a child.
She said: “We are very grateful to the authorities who have worked tirelessly to make this day possible, and we still hope that justice will prevail in the end.”
After Morris resigned from Gateway, the church rented an external law firm to investigate its dealings with allegations. In November, the Church announced that it rejected the elders and church staff who were aware of the claims of Clemishire or should have been doing more to investigate them.
In a statement after the Mores accusation regulations, a gate spokesman said that the church leaders “continue to pray for Clendy Clemeshire and her family, for members and Gateway Church staff, and for everyone who is affected by this terrible situation.”
In response to the story of Clemencehire, the Texas MP Jeff Leach, a Republican, has legislation to give more rights to the victims of childhood sexual assault, including the extension of the period of time when victims must file lawsuits against the attackers or those who have enabled them. Clemishire Witness to support changes During the Texas Committee’s listening session in October.
In Oklahoma, Dramund told NBC News that he supports the elimination of the criminal statute of restrictions in rape cases. Meanwhile, he said he hoped to inspire Mores’s accusation regulations more survivors of progress.
He said: “If you are a victim of child abuse, one, my heart comes out to you.” “Two, if this happens in Oklahoma, call me. Let’s not assume that we cannot bring your perpetrator to justice.”
If you are a child who is abused, or you know a child who may face ill -treatment, contact the children’s national plan to abuse children (800) 422-4453Or go to www.childhelphotline.org. Countries often have hot lines to abuse children, but if you suspect that the child’s life is in an imminent danger, call the number 911.
