Robert Morris, the founder and former senior pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, has been indicted on five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child, according to a release from the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office.
Julie Roys, a Christian reporter, broke the news of the indictment on Wednesday evening.
The allegations date back to incidents that began in 1982 when Morris was a travelling evangelist.
Morris, 63, eventually resigned from his leadership role at Gateway Church last summer after allegations came to light in June 2024.
The victim, Cindy Clemishire, now a 54-year-old grandmother, shared details of what happened with the Wartburg Watch. Clemishire explained that the first incident happened on Christmas day in 1982 when she was just 12-years-old and sporadically continued when Morris stayed with the family for four more years.
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The church, one of the largest megachurches in the United States, has faced scrutiny as past allegations against Morris surfaced in recent years. The church's elders claimed that Morris described his actions as "inappropriate sexual behaviour with a young lady," and that it was a consensual relationship with a person of legal age.
The indictment states that in December 1982, Morris was visiting Hominy, Oklahoma, and staying with the family of the alleged victim, who was 12 at the time. Prosecutors allege that Morris' sexual misconduct began that Christmas and continued for four years.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond condemned the alleged crimes, stating, “There can be no tolerance for those who sexually prey on children. 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 statute of limitations does not apply in this case because Morris was not a resident of Oklahoma at any time, according to the release.
Morris now faces prosecution on the five charges. None of the allegations have been proven in court.