In a stunning courtroom admission that has reverberated through evangelical circles, Robert Morris, the founding pastor of Texas megachurch Gateway Church, pleaded guilty Thursday to multiple counts of child sexual abuse. The 64-year-old former spiritual advisor to Donald Trump now faces a 10-year prison sentence, though most of it is suspended, leaving him to serve just six months in an Oklahoma county jail. He must also register as a sex offender and pay $250,000 in restitution to his victim, Cindy Clemishire, who was just 12 when the abuse began in 1982.
Morris's downfall traces back to those early years, when, as a traveling evangelist in his early 20s, he allegedly assaulted Clemishire over several nights during a holiday visit at her family's home in Oklahoma. For decades, the incidents remained buried, with Morris later describing them in vague terms as "inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady." But in June 2024, Clemishire went public, detailing the grooming and repeated violations that shattered her childhood. Gateway Church, which Morris built from a small Bible study into a sprawling network drawing 100,000 weekly attendees across nine campuses, accepted his resignation amid the uproar. The scandal exposed deeper fissures, including church leaders' prior knowledge and a subsequent wave of internal probes and layoffs.
Indeed, the past year has been a torrent of revelations for Gateway. An independent investigation by a law firm uncovered mishandling by elders, leading to several resignations and more staff cuts this summer as donations plummeted. Morris was indicted on five felony counts in March 2025, turned himself in briefly, then fought the charges until this plea deal in Osage County court. His lawyer had once shockingly shifted blame to the child, a detail that only fueled public outrage. And while Morris stood handcuffed after the hearing, offering no comment, Clemishire's family watched from the gallery, a poignant reminder of the long shadow cast by such betrayals.
However, the church presses on, vowing reforms and denouncing abuse in all forms. Yet questions linger about accountability in megachurch empires. As Morris begins his sentence, one can't help but wonder how many more stories like this remain untold in places of supposed spiritual refuge.