Megachurch pastor resigns after admitting 'sexual behavior' with 'young lady.' She was 12.

The pastor of a megachurch in Dallas resigned Tuesday, two days after admitting to "inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady" 35 years ago. The "young lady" in question was 12 and the "behavior" as she described it would amount to criminal sexual abuse.

The now-former Pastor Robert Morris of Gateway Church was preaching to more than 100,000 active attendees and was once a spiritual adviser to former President Donald Trump. His resignation comes four days after 54-year-old Cindy Clemishire went public with allegations that Morris started molesting her when she was 12 and he was 21, telling USA TODAY on Tuesday that she was no longer afraid.

"It was kissing and petting and not intercourse, but it was wrong," Morris, 62, said Sunday in a statement to local Dallas news station WFAA-TV. "This behavior happened on several occasions over the next few years ... Since that time, I have walked in purity and accountability in this area." 

At first the church was standing behind Morris but announced his resignation following a wave of criticism.

In a statement issued to members of the news media, the church's board of elders said they previously understood that Morris had an "extramarital relationship" with a "young lady," citing the pastor's words − "not abuse of a 12-year-old child."

"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," according to the statement, obtained by CBS News and NBC News.

Here's what we know.

Cindy Clemishire says Robert Morris sexually abused her at age 12

Allegations against Morris went public on Friday after Clemishire first shared her story with the Wartburg Watch, a blog about sexual abuse within the church.

Clemishire said in the blog post that she and her family met Morris at a youth revival in Tulsa, Oklahoma, when he was 20 and she was 11. Morris was a traveling evangelist with his wife, Debbie.

Morris would preach at Clemishire's church on Sundays, and sometimes he, Debbie, and their son would stay at her family's home. She viewed him as "safe and friendly," she said.

Things changed on Christmas in 1982 when Morris asked a 12-year-old Clemishire to "visit him in his room that night," and she thought nothing of it, she said in the post. Once in his room, she said he sexually abused her and warned her: "Never tell anyone about this because it will ruin everything."

She said the abuse continued in Oklahoma and Texas until 1987.

Eventually Clemishire told a good friend and her parents about the abuse, and Morris "reportedly stepped down from ministry for two years," she told the blog.

Church's initial support precedes Morris' resignation

Even as the church released a statement about his resignation, on Tuesday Morris was still listed as the senior pastor on Gateway Church's website, which says he has been married to his wife Debbie for 44 years and has three children with her.

Morris has a television program that airs in over 190 countries and his radio program airs in more than 6,800 cities, according to his biography on the Gateway Church website. Morris' YouTube page, which has 80,000 subscribers, includes videos with titles like "Freedom Through Forgiveness" and "Did You Know You're Made Perfect By God's Grace?"

In a previous statement issued to WFAA-TV, the church said that Morris has been "open and forthright about a moral failure he had over 35 years ago" and that "there have been no other moral failures."

In his own statement to the outlet on Sunday, Morris said that "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 stop out of ministry and receive counseling and freedom ministry, which I did."

In the latest statement, the church elders said that "we regret that we did not have the information that we now have."

"For the sake of the victim, we are thankful this situation has been exposed," they 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 was also on Trump’s spiritual advisory board during the 2016 campaign and during the presidency. Trump's current campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, said in a statement to NBC News that the former president hadn't been aware of the allegations and that Morris "does not have a role with the 2024 campaign.”

'Any and all victims, come forward'

Before Morris' resignation on Tuesday Clemishire told USA TODAY that she was "disappointed that they're basically lying and minimizing the crime."

USA TODAY does not typically name victims of sexual abuse but Clemishire said it was important to her.

She said that she has been sharing her story for decades with leadership in "very large and high-profile" churches and organizations, but no one took Morris out of ministry or the pulpit. Clemishire decided to come forward publicly to encourage others who may be victims to tell their stories, she said.

"Any and all victims, come forward ... I just don't believe that I'm the only person," she said.

At 54 years old, Clemishire said she has a "different confidence and a different understanding" that no longer makes her "feel intimidated."

"The courage is there," she said. "I just couldn't stay silent anymore."

Clemishire also included her name in the Wartburg Watch blog because she has "no shame."

"I've always just trusted that God's timing would take it wherever it needed to go," she said about Morris. "Why hide?"

Can Robert Morris be charged criminally?

Boz Tchividjian, Clemishire's attorney, told USA TODAY on Tuesday that Morris can't be charged criminally or civilly for the abuse because of the statute of limitations in place in the late 1980s, which was "fairly short."

Since 2017, the statute of limitations in Oklahoma for sex crimes involving children has been until the accuser turns 45. Before 2017, the statute of limitations was 12 years after the accuser turned 18.

"This just demonstrates the absolute importance of statute of limitations reform, both in criminal and civil cases," Tchvidijian said. "When somebody is traumatized as a child, for many it takes decades to process that trauma to even be ready to speak out or do something about it."

Tchividjian is advocating for "look-back windows," which allows states to reopen statutes of limitations that have previously expired so "survivors can now file their lawsuits."

Clemishire and Tchividjian are "currently evaluating all options" when it comes to legal action against Morris.