Robert Morris, founder of Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, pleaded guilty on October 2, 2025, in Osage County District Court, Oklahoma, to five felony counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child, admitting to abusing 12-year-old Cindy Clemishire more than 100 times from 1982 to 1987 while staying with her family.
The plea agreement imposes six months in county jail, a suspended 10-year prison sentence, lifetime sex offender registration, and $250,000 in restitution to Clemishire, who first confronted Morris in 2005 and publicly detailed the abuse in 2024, leading to his resignation as senior pastor.
Clemishire, now 56, described herself as a survivor in her victim impact statement and expressed relief at the resolution after 43 years, though she questioned the sentence’s adequacy.
