Gateway Church founder pleads guilty to child sex abuse

Former pastor Robert Morris on Thursday pleaded guilty in an Oklahoma court to five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child. The charges stem from allegations made by Cindy Clemishire that Morris abused her from 1982 to 1987, beginning when she was 12 years old. Morris was a traveling preacher at the time when he met Clemishire’s family while preaching at their church in Oklahoma. Per his plea agreement with prosecutors, Morris received a 10-year suspended sentence. He will serve the first six months in an Oklahoma jail and remain on probation for the remainder of the sentence. He will also be required to register as a sex offender and pay restitution to Clemishire. Following the plea, Clemishire said justice had been served and she hoped her story would empower other sexual abuse survivors to speak out.

What has happened so far in the case? Clemishire first came forward with her allegations last summer, and her claims kicked off a legal case and an investigation at the Dallas-based church that Morris founded in 2000.

• June 2024: Morris resigned from Gateway Church days after Clemishire’s claims were made public.

• November 2024: The church removed several elders and staff members from leadership after an independent investigation determined they knew of the allegations but remained silent.

• March 2025: A grand jury in Oklahoma indicted Morris on five charges related to Clemishire’s allegations.

• May 2025: Gateway Church named Pastor Daniel Floyd as its next senior pastor. He and his wife founded the multi-campus Lifepoint Church in Virginia in 2005.

Dig deeper: Read my report about the allegations leveled against Morris.