Robert Morris, the founder of Texas megachurch Gateway Church, has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a young girl decades ago. The 64-year-old former pastor entered pleas to five counts of lewd and indecent acts with a child in an Oklahoma courtroom on Thursday, wrapping up a long legal battle.
The abuse started back in 1982 in Hominy, Oklahoma, when the victim, Cindy Clemishire, was just 12 years old. Morris, then a 21-year-old traveling evangelist, stayed with her family at the time. According to Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, the assaults continued for the next four years. Clemishire, now 55, went public with her story last year, leading to Morris’s resignation from Gateway Church in Southlake, near Dallas-Fort Worth. That megachurch, one of the largest in the U.S., grew under his leadership since he founded it in 2000.
An Oklahoma grand jury indicted Morris earlier this year on child sexual abuse charges. In the plea deal, he got a 10-year suspended sentence, but he’ll spend the first six months behind bars in Osage County Jail. Morris now has to register as a sex offender, stay under supervision through an interstate agreement with Texas authorities, and pay for his jail costs plus restitution to Clemishire.
After the hearing, sheriff’s deputies escorted a handcuffed Morris out of the Osage County Courthouse in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, wearing a suit. His attorney, Bill Mateja, said Morris wanted to take full responsibility legally, just as he believed he had spiritually through his work at Gateway. “He readily accepted responsibility in the eyes of the law,” Mateja added. Morris also asked for forgiveness from Clemishire and her family.
Clemishire shared her relief in a statement: “Justice has finally been served, and the man who manipulated, groomed, and abused me as a 12-year-old innocent girl is finally going to be behind bars.” She hopes her story encourages other child sexual abuse victims to speak out and remove their shame. “The only way to stop child sexual abuse is to speak up when it happens or is suspected,” she said. Clemishire has publicly identified herself, which is why her name appears here—news outlets like the Associated Press usually protect assault victims’ privacy unless they choose to come forward.
When the allegations first surfaced last year, Morris told The Christian Post it involved “inappropriate sexual behavior” with a “young lady” in her early 20s—kissing and petting, but not intercourse. He called it wrong but framed it that way at the time.
Morris has been politically active, once serving on Donald Trump’s evangelical advisory board. Gateway Church even hosted Trump in 2020 for talks on race relations and the economy. The church didn’t comment on Thursday’s plea.
Drummond praised Clemishire’s courage, saying, “There can be no tolerance for those who sexually prey on children. This case is all the more despicable because the perpetrator was a pastor who exploited his position of trust and authority. The victim has waited far too many years for this day.”
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