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Gateway Church Founder Robert Morris Pleads Guilty to 1980s Child Sex Abuse, Receives 6-Month Jail Term

Prosecutors relied on an Oklahoma rule that paused the statute of limitations after he left the state.

Overview

  • Morris, 64, pleaded guilty in Osage County to five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child under a negotiated plea.
  • He received a 10-year suspended sentence with six months to be served in jail, and deputies took him into custody after the hearing.
  • He must register as a sex offender and will be supervised in Texas under the interstate compact, according to the attorney general’s office.
  • Officials say the abuse of Cindy Clemishire began in December 1982 when she was 12 in Hominy, Oklahoma, and continued for about four years.
  • Restitution to Clemishire was ordered, with reports placing the amount between $250,000 and $270,000, and separate civil suits, including a congregant case recently allowed to proceed by a federal judge, remain active.