Robert Morris: Megachurch Pastor Pleads Guilty to Child Abuse

Texas megachurch founder Robert Morris pleaded guilty to lewd acts with a child. He must register as a sex offender and pay restitution. The victim, Cindy Clemishire, expressed relief. Case began in 1982.

Cindy Clemishire goes out of the courtroom following the accusation hearing for Dallas-area megachurch Portal founder Robert Morris at the Osage County Courthouse in Pawhuska, Okla., on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025. AP

Morris’s Resignation and Oklahoma Grand Jury

Morris was the senior pastor of Portal Church in the Dallas-Fort Well worth suburb of Southlake, where he led among the nation’s biggest megachurches until his resignation. He was fingered previously this year by an Oklahoma grand court.

“I hope that legislations remain to transform and new ones are written so youngsters and sufferers’ civil liberties are much better secured. I wish that people recognize the only means to quit child sexual abuse is to speak up when it takes place or is believed.”

Texas megachurch creator Robert Morris is escorted out of the court house after pleading guilty to lewd and indecent show a youngster at the Osage County Courthouse in Pawhuska, Okla., on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025. AP

Guilty Plea and Sentencing

Morris needs to sign up as a sex culprit and will be monitored by Texas authorities through interstate compact. He likewise was purchased to pay his expenses of imprisonment, including any kind of medical costs, and restitution to the victim.

When inquired about the allegations in 2014 by The Christian Message, Morris said in a statement to the publication that when he was in his early 20s he was “associated with improper sexual habits with a girl in a home where I was staying.”

“There can be no tolerance for those who sexually victimize youngsters,” Drummond stated. “This situation is even more despicable because the wrongdoer was a priest that exploited his position of trust fund and authority. The victim in this instance has waited far a lot of years for this particular day.”

Texas megachurch owner Robert Morris is accompanied out of the court house after pleading guilty to salacious and indecent acts with a child at the Osage Court in Pawhuska, Okla., on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025. AP

“While he believes that he time out of mind approved responsibility in the eyes of God which Entrance Church was a manifestation of that acceptance, he readily approved duty in the eyes of the legislation,” Mateja said.

The founder of a Texas megachurch who surrendered in 2015 after a lady in Oklahoma charged the priest of sexually abusing her in the 1980s pleaded guilty Thursday to 5 counts of indecent and lewd show a youngster, authorities said.

Victim’s Statement and Legal Closure

Cindy Clemishire goes out of the court following the arraignment hearing for Dallas-area megachurch Gateway founder Robert Morris at the Osage Court in Pawhuska, Okla., on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025. AP

The target, Cindy Clemishire, that is currently 55, stated in a statement that “justice has actually finally been offered, and the male who manipulated, brushed and abused me as a 12-year-old innocent woman is ultimately mosting likely to lag bars.”

Among Morris’ attorneys, Bill Mateja, claimed Morris wanted to approve duty for his conduct, and intended to bring the legal matter to an end for him and his family members and Clemishire and her household.

The abuse started in 1982 when the victim was 12 and Morris was a taking a trip evangelist staying in Hominy, Oklahoma, with her family members, according to the statement by Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond.