Robert Morris, the former pastor who founded a Texas megachurch, pleaded guilty on Oct. 2 to child sexual abuse charges stemming from incidents that date back to the 1980s in Oklahoma.
Morris, 64, pleaded guilty before Osage County District Special Judge Cindy Pickerill to five counts of lewd and indecent acts with a child.
The charges stemmed from abuse that began in 1982, when Morris, then a traveling evangelist, visited the victim’s family in Hominy, Oklahoma, the attorney general’s office stated. The victim, Cindy Clemishire, was 12 at the time, and the abuse continued over the next four years.
As part of the plea agreement, Morris was required to register as a sex offender and ordered to pay his incarceration costs and restitution to the victim.
“This case is all the more despicable because the perpetrator was a pastor who exploited his position of trust and authority. The victim in this case has waited far too many years for this day,” he added.
Morris will also be placed under supervision by Texas authorities through interstate compact, the attorney general’s office stated.
“My hope is that many victims hear my story, and it can help lift their shame and allow them to speak up. I hope that laws continue to change and new ones are written so children and victims’ rights are better protected,” she stated. “Today is a new beginning for me, my family and friends who have been by my side through this horrendous journey.”
Morris’s attorney, Bill Mateja, said that the former pastor wanted to accept responsibility for his conduct and apologize to 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.
