Introduction to the Case
Robert Morris, the Texas megachurch pastor who built Gateway Church into one of the largest congregations in the country, pleaded guilty Thursday in Osage County District Court to charges that he sexually abused a girl in the 1980s.
Morris, 64, entered the plea before Judge Cindy Pickerill, admitting to five felony counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child. Under a negotiated plea agreement, he was given a ten-year sentence, but he will only serve six months in county jail. He must also be registered as a sex offender and pay $250,000 in restitution.
The Accusations and Investigation
Morris was handcuffed and taken into custody after Thursday’s hearing. Cindy Clemishire, the woman who accused Morris of molesting her at age 12, sat in the courtroom, surrounded by family, as Morris accepted responsibility — a moment she sought for decades. Clemishire told NBC News the abuse began on Christmas night in 1982, when she was 12 and wearing flowery pink pajamas. Morris, a traveling evangelist in his early 20s who sometimes stayed with her family in Oklahoma, invited her to his room, where, she said, he instructed her to lie on her back. He then touched her breasts and felt under her panties, she said — the first of several similar encounters that would span the next few years.
The Aftermath and Clemishire’s Story
Clemishire at her childhood home in Hominy, Okla., on Thursday. (September Dawn Bottom for NBC News)
Clemishire told NBC News that she kept the secret until 1987, when she told her parents and leaders at her church. Morris went through what he later described as a “restoration process” in the late 1980s before he returned to ministry. Nobody called the police, Clemishire said. Years later, in the mid-2000s — after Morris had risen to national prominence — Clemishire approached him and leaders of Gateway Church, seeking $50,000 in restitution to recover what she’d spent processing her childhood trauma in therapy, records show.
The Plea and Its Implications
The plea represents a remarkable fall for Morris, who founded Gateway in 2000 in Southlake, Texas, and grew it into a megachurch with tens of thousands of weekly attendees. His sermons were broadcast to audiences around the world, his books became bestsellers in evangelical circles, and he served as a faith adviser to President Donald Trump. That career collapsed in June 2024 after Clemishire, 55, publicly accused him of sexually abusing her. Within days, Gateway announced that Morris was stepping down. In a prepared statement, Clemishire told Morris in court his abuse “rippled into every part” of her life, straining relationships, damaging her marriages and affecting the way she raised her children.
Conclusion
The guilty plea is the latest development in a case that has reverberated far beyond rural Oklahoma. The scandal drew national attention as an example of how decades-old allegations of child sex abuse can be prosecuted. Advocates for survivors point to Clemishire’s story as evidence of how victims often wait years to come forward and why civil and criminal statutes of limitation should be eliminated in cases of child sex abuse. For Clemishire, Thursday’s plea represented a long-awaited acknowledgment of the trauma inflicted on her as a child. “Today marks a new beginning for me, my family and my friends who have been by my side throughout this horrendous journey,” Clemishire said in her statement.
FAQs
- Who is Robert Morris and what were the charges against him?
Robert Morris is a Texas megachurch pastor who pleaded guilty to charges that he sexually abused a girl in the 1980s. He admitted to five felony counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child. - What was the outcome of the plea agreement?
Under the negotiated plea agreement, Morris was given a ten-year sentence, but he will only serve six months in county jail. He must also be registered as a sex offender and pay $250,000 in restitution. - Who is Cindy Clemishire and what is her connection to the case?
Cindy Clemishire is the woman who accused Morris of molesting her at age 12. She sat in the courtroom, surrounded by family, as Morris accepted responsibility — a moment she sought for decades. - What is the significance of this case?
The scandal drew national attention as an example of how decades-old allegations of child sex abuse can be prosecuted. Advocates for survivors point to Clemishire’s story as evidence of how victims often wait years to come forward and why civil and criminal statutes of limitation should be eliminated in cases of child sex abuse.
