Robert Morris, founder of Texas Mega Church, pleaded guilty to child sex crimes
Under the plea agreement, he will serve six months at the Osage County Jail. He then goes on probation for nine years and six months.
PAUWSKA, Okla. — Robert Morris, founder of Texas Megachurch, pleaded guilty in Oklahoma Court on October 2 to a sex crime against a girl that began in 1982 and lasted for years.
Morris, 64, has committed five felony counts of child lewd or vulgarity in an Osage County court. He will serve six months in the Osage County Jail and be on probation for nine years and six months, according to a judicial agreement outlined in a news release by Oklahoma Attorney General Gettner Drummond.
He also has to register as a sex offender and pay victim Cindy Clemisher $270,000 in reparations. Morris did not apologise in court.
Osage County Special Judge Cindy Piqueril accepted the contract after Clemshire admitted that she had been consulted about it and agreed to the punishment.
Probation is considered a suspended sentence under a judicial agreement. This means that Morris is currently a convicted felon. If he violated the terms of his probation, he could go to prison.
“This case is even more despicable because the perpetrator was a pastor who exploited his trust and authority position,” Drummond said in a news release. “The victims in this case had been waiting for this day too many years.”
Victims say that the crime is “the wounded faith itself.”
Morris admitted to the misconduct after Clemisher spoke to Wartburg Watch, a blog about sexual abuse within the church. Clemisher previously told USA Today, which has not been named a victim of sexual abuse.
“All the victims, come forward… I don’t believe I’m the only person,” she said.
In a victim’s impact statement in the October 2nd minutes, Kremisher once again said that Morris had sexually abused her for over four years.
“While you created a megachurch, created a written book and gained fame, I dropped out of college, endured divorce and suffered from self-worth,” she told Morris in a voice choked with emotion.
“I twisted your crime into a ‘infidelity’ story to protect your image, but my family and I were trying to explain the truth to the reciprocal pastor.
She told him that his crimes “harmed the faith itself” and she told him he really wanted him to repent. Morris bowed his head and closed his eyes between the shocking statements.
Why was Robert Morris blamed?
In a blog post, Kremisher said she and her family met Morris at the Tulsa Youth Revival when she was 20 and 11 years old. Morris was a preacher traveling with his wife Debbie.
Morris preaches at the church in Cremisher on Sunday, and sometimes he, Debbie and their son stay at her family home. She viewed him as “safe and friendly,” she said.
On Christmas 1982, when Morris asked 12-year-old Cremisher to “visit him in his room that night,” she said in the post. When she entered his room, she said he sexually abused her and warned her.
She said the abuse continued in Oklahoma and Texas until 1987.
In a statement made last year, Morris said in her early 20s that she was involved in “inappropriate sexual behavior with a young woman at the house where I was staying.” Morris pleaded guilty “for finality,” his Texas attorney Bill Mateja said in a news statement.
“Pastor Robert emphasized asking Ms. Clemischer and her family to sincerely apologize for his actions and ask them what they are asking for their forgiveness,” the lawyer said.
Morris was on Trump’s spiritual advisory committee during his 2016 campaign
Morris resigned as senior pastor at Gateway Church last year after admitting to fraud. He founded a church in South Lake, Texas, a suburb of Dallas and Fort Worth. Under his leadership, it expanded to multiple locations.
The church removed some of its officials following the law firm’s investigation into the allegations in November.
Morris joined Trump’s spiritual advisory committee during the 2016 campaign and during the first term of his presidency. He had no role in his 2024 reelection efforts.
According to a biographer on the Gateway Church website, Morris has a television programme that airs in over 190 countries, and his radio programme has aired in over 6,800 cities. His YouTube page is no longer online, but he has 80,000 subscribers, including “Freedom Surow Forgiveness” and “Did you know that you are perfected by God’s grace?”
What’s next for Robert Morris?
Morris faces civil lawsuits accusing her of slandering the victim over the years, including when she allegedly forgiving him. Clemisher and her father filed a lawsuit in Dallas County District Court in June.
They complained that Morris described the sex crime as “extramarital affair,” and said that Kremisher had seduced him.
They also complained that church officials had known about sexual abuse for years, but tried to hide it “to benefit from the church.”
“Victims often go through what I did in 2024 – my personality slander and efforts to change liability have minimized my abuse and turned private pain into national news,” Kremisher said in a statement after his guilty plea.
If you or you have experienced sexual violence, Rainn’s National Sexual Assault Hotline provides free, secret, 24/7 support to survivors and their loved ones in English and Spanish at 800.656.hope (4673) and hotline.rainn.org and enespañolainn.org/es.
