Mega Church Pastor Pleads GUILTY To S*xually Assaulting A Child

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This is truly a despicable action.

The former pastor of Gateway Church in Texas has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a young girl in the 1980s.

Robert Morris, who was once a pastor of a congregation of over 25,000 people, pleaded guilty to five counts of “lewd or indecent acts with a child.”

NBC News had more details to Morris’ conviction and crime:

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 10-year sentence, but he will serve only six months in the county jail. He must also register as a sex offender and pay $250,000 in restitution.

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.

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 statement at the time, Morris acknowledged what he described as “a moral failure” with a “young lady” decades earlier but didn’t respond to the specifics of the allegation.

Here’s the moment he was escorted out of t court house:

Here’s a post calling out Morris in 2024:

AP reported on the victim’s response to Morris’s sentencing:

The victim, Cindy Clemishire, who is 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.” The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Clemishire has done.

“My hope is that many victims hear my story, and it can help lift their shame and allow them to speak up,” she said. “I hope that laws continue to change and new ones are written so children and victims’ rights are better protected. I hope that people understand the only way to stop child sexual abuse is to speak up when it happens or is suspected.”

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.”



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