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Megachurch founder and former pastor Robert Morris pleaded guilty to charges of sexual abuse stemming from an alleged incident in the 1980s in an Oklahoma court on Thursday (October 2), USA TODAY reports.
Morris, 64, entered guilty pleas for five felony counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child and will serve six months in the Osage County Jail and nine years and six months on probation, according to a plea agreement outlined in a news release shared by Oklahoma Attorney General Getner Drummond. The former pastor will also have to register as a sex offender and pay the victim, Cindy Clemishire, $270,000 in restitution as part of the plea agreement.
Osage County Special Judge Cindy Pickerill accepted the plea deal after Clemishire acknowledged that she had been consulted on and agreed to the punishment for Morris, who didn't apologize for his actions while in court. The probation is considered a suspended sentence under the plea agreement, which makes Morris a convicted felon and he can be sent to prison if he violates its conditions.
"This case is all the more despicable because the perpetrator was a pastor who exploited his position of trust and authority," Drummond said in the news release obtained by USA TODAY. "The victim in this case has waited far too many years for this day."
Morris, who had previously served as a spiritual adviser to former President Donald Trump, resigned as Gateway Church's pastor after nearly 25 years as pastor in June 2024 after confessing his actions to the Christian Post. Morris' admission came after Clemishire told the Wartburg Watch that she was allegedly groomed by the pastor and abused until she was 16.
The former pastor claimed the abuse "came to light" in 1987, at which point "it was confessed and repented of." Morris said he "submitted" to church elders and the victim's father, who worked as the head of the church he belonged to at the time, and was asked "to step out of ministry and receive counseling and freedom ministry, which I did."
“Since that time, I have walked in purity and accountability in this area,” he told the Christian Post.
Clemishire said she was "appalled" by Morris descriptor of being a "young lady" at the time of the alleged incidents.
“I was 12 years old. I was a little girl. A very innocent little girl. And he was brought into our home,” Clemishire told the Christian Post, adding that the abuse took her “decades to wrap my brain around as an adult.”
“I was an innocent 12-year-old little girl who knew nothing about sexual behavior,” she said.
Clemishire was also outraged by Morris' claim that her father gave him his blessing to return to the ministry.
“My father never ever gave his blessing on Robert returning to ministry!” she said.
“My father told him he’s lucky he didn’t kill him. I am mortified that he is telling the world my dad gave his blessing!”
Clemishire said Morris abused her in both Texas and Oklahoma, telling his wife at the time that he was providing her with "counseling" before she eventually confided about what was happening to a friend who encouraged her to tell her family. She claimed her father told Morris if he didn't "get out of the ministry" he would get police involved, which led to Morris stepping away for two years.
“Of course, we forgive because we are called to biblically forgive those who sin against us. But that does not mean he is supposed to go on without repercussions,” she added.
Clemishire tried to file a lawsuit in 2005, but Morris' attorney blamed her for causing the abuse by being "flirtatious." The defense eventually offered Clemishire $25,000 to sign a non-disclosure agreement but she declined.
Elders at Gateway Church, which attracts an estimated than 100,000 worshippers weekly, claimed Morris had been biblically restored to ministry after confessing.
“Pastor Robert has been open and forthright about a moral failure he had over 35 years ago when he was in his twenties and prior to him starting Gateway Church. He has shared publicly from the pulpit the proper biblical steps he took in his lengthy restoration process,” the elders told the Christian Post.