The man who founded one of the biggest megachurches in the United States has been indicted in Oklahoma on child sexual abuse charges, the state’s attorney general’s office announced.
Robert Morris, 63, who resigned last year as the senior pastor of Texas-based Gateway Church, was charged Wednesday with five counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child.
Morris, 63, allegedly first abused the victim, referred to in the indictment as C.C., when she was 12 years old in 1982.
He was a traveling evangelist and was staying with the victim’s family in Hominy, Oklahoma, according to the attorney general’s office.
The alleged abuse started when he was staying with them on Christmas Day and continued for another three years, with the last alleged incident possibly occurring in 1985, per the indictment.
Cindy Clemishire, Morris’ accuser, came forward to the Associated Press and said she was grateful to the authorities who worked to bring the indictment.
‘After almost 43 years, the law has finally caught up with Robert Morris for the horrific crimes he committed against me as a child,’ said Clemishire, now 55. ‘Now, it is time for the legal system to hold him accountable.’
Clemishire first came forward to The Wartburg Watch in June of last year. Following a public outcry, Morris resigned from his post at the 100,000-member church.
‘There can be no tolerance for those who sexually prey on children,’ Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a statement.
‘This case is all the more despicable because the alleged perpetrator was a pastor who exploited his position. The victim in this case has waited far too many years for justice to be done.’
The grand jury concluded that Morris used his hands and body to touch Clemishire’s private parts when she was 12 until she was 14.
Morris had been married to his current wife, Debbie, for about two years when the alleged abuse began in 1982, per the indictment.
Clemishire has claimed Morris tried to have sex with her when she was 16, but this was not alleged in the indictment.
Clemishire told The Dallas Morning News last year that she didn’t even believe she was sexually abused until age 35, though she had been in therapy for the preceding 10 years.
Morris, who founded Gateway Church in 2000, addressed the allegations against him in a statement he provided to The Christian Post last year.
‘When I was in my early twenties, I was involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady in a home where I was staying. It was kissing and petting and not intercourse, but it was wrong. This behavior happened on several occasions over the next few years,’ Morris said.
Morris also claimed the allegations were brought to light in March 1987. At that point, he said he confessed to the family and the elders at the Shady Grove Church, the church he was a part of at the time.
Morris got forgiveness from Clemishire’s family, something Clemishire confirmed to the Christian Post, but she claims her father never gave Morris his blessing to return to being a pastor.
‘My father never ever gave his blessing on Robert returning to ministry! My father told him he’s lucky he didn’t kill him,’ Clemishire said. ‘Of course, we forgive because we are called to biblically forgive those who sin against us. But that does not mean he is supposed to go on without repercussions.’
DailyMail.com approached Morris for comment on the charges against him.
Gateway Church released a statement Wednesday saying it was aware of the indictment against Morris, while thanking law enforcement for ‘holding abusers accountable for their actions.’
‘We continue to pray for Cindy Clemishire and her family, for the members and staff of Gateway Church, and for all of those impacted by this terrible situation,’ the church said.
Morris has been politically active in the past, having served as an advisor to President Donald Trump on religious issues during his first term. He also hosted Trump at Gateway Church in 2020.
A spokesperson for Trump told The New York Times last year that Morris did not play a role in his 2024 presidential campaign.
Morris, who wasn’t in custody as of Wednesday, faces 20 years in prison for each of the charges against him, according to the attorney general’s office.