Former Texas Megachurch Pastor Pleads Guilty to Child Sex Abuse in Oklahoma

Robert Morris, the former pastor who founded a Texas megachurch, pleaded guilty on Oct. 2 to child sexual abuse charges stemming from incidents that date back to the 1980s in Oklahoma.

Morris, 64, pleaded guilty before Osage County District Special Judge Cindy Pickerill to five counts of lewd and indecent acts with a child.

He was handed a 10-year suspended prison sentence, with six months to be served in the Osage County Jail, according to the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office.

The charges stemmed from abuse that began in 1982, when Morris, then a traveling evangelist, visited the victim’s family in Hominy, Oklahoma, the attorney general’s office stated. The victim, Cindy Clemishire, was 12 at the time, and the abuse continued over the next four years.

Clemishire went public with her accusation in June last year, leading to Morris’ resignation as senior pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas. Morris was indicted in March 2025.

As part of the plea agreement, Morris was required to register as a sex offender and ordered to pay his incarceration costs and restitution to the victim.

“There can be no tolerance for those who sexually prey on children,” Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a statement.

“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,” he added.

Morris will also be placed under supervision by Texas authorities through interstate compact, the attorney general’s office stated.

Clemishire said in the statement that “justice has finally been served,” noting that the man who “manipulated, groomed and abused” her as an innocent child is finally going to be behind bars.

“My hope is that many victims hear my story, and it can help lift their shame and allow them to speak up. I hope that laws continue to change and new ones are written so children and victims’ rights are better protected,” she stated. “Today is a new beginning for me, my family and friends who have been by my side through this horrendous journey.”

Morris’s attorney, Bill Mateja, said that the former pastor wanted to accept responsibility for his conduct and apologize to 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.

Morris founded the Gateway Church in Southlake in 2000. Church elders said last year they had previously not known the details of the allegations against Morris, a claim Clemishire has refuted.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.