Last summer, revelations that Gateway Church founder Robert Morris sexually abused a 12-year-old girl in the 1980s shocked the entire Christian world.
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More than a year later, Morris pleaded guilty last week to five felony counts of lewd or lascivious acts on a child. As part of his plea deal, he will receive a 10-year suspended sentence, spend six months in prison, register as a sex offender and pay $270,000 in restitution.
Morris’ victim, Cindy Kremischer, who will receive these monies, was in the courtroom and read a statement directly to Morris detailing the negative impact Morris’ actions had on her life.
“In my victim statement, I told Robert that not only did he steal my innocence, not only did he essentially murder the woman I was supposed to grow up with, but he basically built this distorted framework on top of a very solid foundation that my parents had built with me,” Kremischer said. “He started building a very twisted framework of what love was, and that taught me that abuse is love.”
As Kremischer grew up, she said this dynamic complicated her relationships and expectations about how men should treat her.
“Robert just taught me that my body was not sacred,” she said. “And it had a huge impact on my adult life.”
An emotional courtroom experience
Kremischer said the entire courtroom experience was very emotional.
“It was emotional sitting next to my father and holding his hand because I could see the immense emotion inside him,” she told CBN News about her experience in court. “He loved Robert. … We were like family. … I know (it) was very painful for him.”
The guilt her father felt only added to the pain. Nevertheless, Kremischer also said it is “empowering” to finally have the voice of “the world and the law” heard. She was able to give a victim statement directly in Morris’ presence, but he was unresponsive, she said.
“He never looked up,” she said. “He was looking at the table. He was sitting at the table and looking right down at the table.”
In the end, Kremischer said, “I have never felt any regrets.” He added that Morris was required to read the indictment, plead, and had an opportunity to publicly apologize, but did not do so himself.
the difficult part of the story
Kremischer said it was difficult to warn so many people about her story over the years, only to be largely ignored and ignored.
“If you speak to so many people who are in authority in that religious field…and quite a few high-ranking people know…some of the highest officials in that part of our religious community know, and they just continue to cover it up,” she said. “They say he’s recovered, they don’t ask about my recovery, they don’t pursue recovery or helping me find a family.”
She continued, “The frustration and pain continues to grow exponentially and only really undermines faith in organized religion.”
But despite the disappointment and what she believes her story was mishandled, Kremischer said she never gave up on her Christian beliefs.
“I immediately go back to the childhood foundation that my parents gave me,” she said. “My father…his faith is in Jesus, not the church. He became a Christian as an adult…so his foundation was in God’s Word, not the church. And he gave us the same foundation. And I just wasn’t taught to believe in men.”
Kremischer continued, “I was taught to believe in God’s Word. I was taught to have a personal relationship with Jesus, which is to pray. That’s what I’ve done all my adult life, even during very difficult times.”
understanding guilty pleas
Regarding Morris’ criminal case and plea agreement, Kremischer said the state of Oklahoma is involving the victim in the process to make sure they are satisfied with the final outcome.
“We had a lot of conversations about this, and we spent several different hours together processing all of that and understanding all the details behind the plea,” she said. “And I had to accept, ‘This is what’s best for me,’ not what’s best for other people watching the story, not what’s best for Robert, but what’s best for me.”
Kremischer said he did not want to prolong the process and decided that in the best interests of his parents and those around him, this was the best way to close the chapter and move on.
Ultimately, Kremischer said forgiveness is an “ongoing process” and that over time there will be “a new realization that we need to forgive.”
“It’s also 70 times seven,” she said, citing Jesus’ words about forgiveness. “I think it’s because of that hurt. Something happens and we have to forgive again. And that forgiveness isn’t for him. It’s for me. It’s not about his life, and I forgive Robert. ” it doesn’t mean I like him, it doesn’t mean I condone what he did, it doesn’t mean I think he should be a free human being roaming the earth without consequences. It has nothing to do with Robert’s life, and it has nothing to do with Robert’s life, and it has nothing to do with Robert’s life. What to do about me and my relationship with God and with my friends and family. ”
She said that allowing her to carry her wounds will only damage her and her family. But Kremisher had a newfound sense of calm after leaving court last Thursday.
“The only way I can put into words what happened in that courtroom is when he came out in handcuffs and I stood up, I felt like I had been living that role in costume all my adult life,” she said. “And that costume came off of me and remained on the bench where I was sitting in the courtroom, and I came out as the woman that God actually created me to be.”
Mr. Morris’ lawyer, Bill Mateha, said Mr. Morris wanted to accept responsibility and apologize for his actions.
“He accepted responsibility in the eyes of God a long time ago, and I believe Gateway Church is an expression of that acceptance, but he accepted responsibility in the eyes of the law right away,” Mateja said, according to ABC News.
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