The founder of a Texas megachurch, who stepped down last year following accusations from a woman in Oklahoma about sexual abuse during the 1980s, pleaded guilty on Thursday to five counts of lewd and indecent acts with a minor, authorities reported.
Robert Preston Morris, 64, submitted his pleas to a judge in Osage County, Oklahoma, as part of a plea deal, as noted by the state attorney general’s office.
The abuse reportedly started in 1982 when the victim was 12 years old, and Morris was a traveling evangelist residing with her family in Hominy, Oklahoma. This misconduct continued for four years, as detailed in a statement from Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond.
Morris previously served as the senior pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake, a suburb of Dallas-Fort Worth, where he led one of the country’s largest megachurches until resigning. He was charged earlier this year by an Oklahoma grand jury. Under the terms of his plea deal, Morris received a 10-year suspended sentence, with the first six months to be spent in the Osage County Jail.
Morris was handcuffed and wearing a suit as he was escorted out of court on Thursday by two sheriff’s deputies.
The victim, Cindy Clemishire, now 55, expressed in a statement that “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.” The Associated Press generally does not reveal the identities of individuals claiming sexual assault unless they choose to come forward, as Clemishire has.
“I hope my story inspires other victims to shed their shame and come forward,” she stated. “I wish for laws to evolve further so that children and victims’ rights receive better protection. It is crucial that we speak out when we witness or suspect child sexual abuse, as that’s the only way to halt it.”
Morris must register as a sex offender and will be supervised by Texas authorities via interstate compact. He also was ordered to pay his costs of incarceration, including any medical expenses, and restitution to the victim.
One of Morris’ attorneys, Bill Mateja, said Morris wanted to accept responsibility for his conduct, and wanted to bring the legal matter to an end for the sake of him and his family and Clemishire and her family.
“While he believes that he long since accepted responsibility in the eyes of God and that Gateway Church was a manifestation of that acceptance, he readily accepted responsibility in the eyes of the law,” Mateja said.
Mateja said Morris wanted to apologize to Clemishire and her family for his conduct and asked for forgiveness.
When asked about the allegations last year by The Christian Post, Morris said in a statement to the publication that when he was in his early 20s he was “involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady in a home where I was staying.” He said it was “kissing and petting, not intercourse, but it was wrong.”
Gateway Church was founded by Morris in 2000. He has been politically active and formerly served on President Donald Trump’s evangelical advisory board. The church hosted Trump on its Dallas campus in 2020 for a discussion on race relations and the economy.
Gateway Church declined to comment Thursday.
The pleas were entered before Osage County District Special Judge Cindy Pickerill.
“There can be no tolerance for those who sexually prey on children,” Drummond said. “This case is all the more despicable because the perpetrator was a pastor who exploited his position of trust and authority. The victim in this case has waited far too many years for this day.”
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This story has been corrected to say that Robert Morris was indicted earlier this year, not last year.
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Associated Press journalist John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this report.
