Robert Morris, the senior pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake, one of the largest churches in the country, has been accused by a woman of sexually abusing her from age 12 to16 in the 1980s. (Robert W. Hart / Special Contributor)
Robert Morris, the founding pastor of Dallas-area megachurch Gateway, turned himself in to Oklahoma authorities Monday on child sexual abuse charges.
Morris, 63, surrendered to officials in Osage County, where he was charged last week with five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child, according to Osage County Sheriff's Office.
His attorney, Mack Martin, declined to comment on the charges against Morris, but said he anticipated entering a not guilty plea on Morris' behalf.
The sheriff's office said Morris paid the $50,000 bond set by an Osage County judge and surrendered his passport.
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Morris resigned last year as pastor of Gateway Church in the Dallas suburb of Southlake after a woman accused him of sexually abusing her in the 1980s.
Cindy Clemishire, now 55, revealed in a post on the church watchdog site The Wartburg Watch that she was 12 when Morris first sexually abused her in 1982. The alleged abuse continued for more than four years, Clemishire told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth.
Clemishire said in a statement that she is very grateful to the authorities who have worked to make the indictment possible and is hopeful “justice will ultimately prevail.”
“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, it is time for the legal system to hold him accountable.”
Morris was known to be politically active. The church hosted President Donald Trump on its Dallas campus in 2020 for a discussion on race relations and the economy.
Morris could face up to 20 years in prison for each of the five charges, according to the attorney general’s office.
