The founder of a Texas megachurch in the United States, Robert Preston Morris, who resigned last year after being accused of sexual abuse, has pleaded guilty to five counts of lewd and indecent acts with a child, according to Oklahoma authorities
Morris, 64, entered the pleas in Osage County District Court as part of a deal with prosecutors, the State Attorney General’s office said.
The abuse began in 1982 when the victim was 12 years old and Morris, then a traveling evangelist, was staying with her family in Hominy, Oklahoma, Attorney General Gentner Drummond said. It continued for four years.
Morris led Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, one of the largest megachurches in the U.S., until stepping down last year. He was indicted earlier this year by an Oklahoma grand jury. Under the plea deal, he received a 10-year suspended sentence, with the first six months to be served in the Osage County Jail.
He was handcuffed and wearing a suit as deputies escorted him from court Thursday.
The victim, Cindy Clemishire, now 55, said 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.”
She added: “My hope is that many victims hear my story, and it can help lift their shame and allow them to speak up.”
Morris will be required to register as a sex offender, serve supervised probation in Texas under interstate compact, and pay restitution along with the costs of his incarceration.
One of his 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.” Mateja added that Morris wished to apologize to Clemishire and ask for forgiveness.
In a 2023 statement to The Christian Post, Morris described his past behavior as “inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady in a home where I was staying,” adding that “it was kissing and petting, not intercourse, but it was wrong.”
Morris founded Gateway Church in 2000 and was once a member of former President Donald Trump’s evangelical advisory board. The church hosted Trump at its Dallas campus in 2020 for a discussion on race relations and the economy. Gateway declined to comment Thursday.
Judge Cindy Pickerill accepted the plea.
“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.”
- CNN