Former megachurch pastor Robert Morris pleads guilty to child sex abuse in Oklahoma

Robert Morris, once one of the nation’s most influential evangelical pastors, pleaded guilty in an Oklahoma courtroom to sexually abusing a young girl more than four decades ago.

(NBC) – Robert Morris, once one of the nation’s most influential evangelical pastors, pleaded guilty in an Oklahoma courtroom to sexually abusing a young girl more than four decades ago.

The victim, Cindy Clemishire, now 55, confronted Morris in court as he admitted to five felony counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child in the 1980s. Through tears, she told her abuser: “People need to know who he is, that he came into our home as a pedophile disguised as a preacher.”

Clemishire said the abuse began on Christmas night in 1982 when she was just 12 years old and Morris was 21. It continued for years before she confided in her parents and church leaders in 1987. Last year, she spoke publicly about the abuse for the first time, spurring renewed attention that led to formal charges.

Over the decades, Morris rose to prominence as founder of Gateway Church in Texas, leading one of the largest congregations in the country. He also served on former President Trump’s spiritual advisory council and occasionally alluded to past “temptations” in his sermons.

Morris was sentenced to 10 years, though under a plea deal he will serve six months in a county jail. He must also register as a sex offender and pay $250,000 in restitution.

For Clemishire, the conviction represents long-delayed justice. “There is hope to come out of shame and to be whole again,” she said after the hearing. “That’s my hope for me, my hope for other victims, and even for Robert.”

Justice, she said, was decades delayed—but no longer denied.