Robert Morris, the prominent Texas megachurch pastor and founder of Gateway Church, pleaded guilty Thursday in Osage County District Court to charges of sexually abusing a child in the 1980s. The plea marks a dramatic fall for the religious leader, whose sermons reached global audiences and who once served as a faith adviser to a U.S. President.
Morris, 64, admitted to five felony counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child before Judge Cindy Pickerill. Under a negotiated plea agreement, Morris received a 10-year sentence but will serve only six months in the county jail. He is also required to register as a sex offender and pay $250,000 in restitution. Morris was immediately handcuffed and taken into custody following the hearing.
The Long Road to Accountability
The victim, Cindy Clemishire, 55, was present in the courtroom, surrounded by family, as Morris accepted responsibility for the abuse that began when she was 12 years old on Christmas night in 1982.
Clemishire publicly accused Morris in June 2024, leading to his resignation from Gateway Church, which he had grown into one of the country’s largest congregations since its founding in Southlake, Texas, in 2000. While Morris initially acknowledged a “moral failure,” he did not immediately respond to the specific allegations.
The Oklahoma attorney general’s office launched an investigation after Clemishire’s public disclosure. In March 2025, a multicounty grand jury indicted Morris. Prosecutors used a frontier-era provision of Oklahoma law, which pauses the statute of limitations when a defendant moves out of state, to pursue the decades-old case.
Victim’s Statement in Court
Addressing Morris in court, Clemishire detailed the severe impact of his actions, stating his abuse “rippled into every part” of her life, straining her relationships and marriages, and affecting her children.
“Let me be clear,” Clemishire told Morris. “There is no such thing as consent from a 12-year-old child. We were never in an ‘inappropriate relationship.’ I was not a ‘young lady’ but a child. You committed a crime against me.”
After the plea, Clemishire expressed relief, calling the event “40 years in the making,” and defiantly declared, “Robert, I want you to see me clearly: I am no longer the silenced little girl you abused.”
Church Investigation and Pending Lawsuit
The scandal has had ongoing repercussions for Gateway Church. In November, the church announced it had removed four elders after an external law firm’s investigation concluded that some had prior knowledge of Clemishire’s allegations years ago but failed to take appropriate action. Morris also filed a lawsuit against Gateway, seeking retirement benefits and alleging the church mishandled his resignation; the church has denied his claims.
The case has drawn national attention, serving as an example for survivor advocates who argue that civil and criminal statutes of limitation should be eliminated in child sexual abuse cases.
