A former Texas megachurch pastor is expected to surrender to Oklahoma authorities on Monday after being charged with child sexual abuse.
Robert Preston Morris, 63, will turn himself in to officials in Osage County, where he faces five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child, his attorney Mack Martin confirmed to The Associated Press.
Martin declined to comment on the charges but indicated that Morris would likely enter a not guilty plea. Court records show that an Osage County judge set a $50,000 bond and ordered Morris to surrender his passport.
Morris, who previously led Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, resigned last year after allegations surfaced that he sexually abused a woman in the 1980s.
According to the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office, the alleged abuse began in 1982 when the victim, identified as C.C. in the indictment, was 12 years old. At the time, Morris was a traveling evangelist staying with her family in Hominy, Oklahoma. The abuse allegedly continued for four years.
Cindy Clemishire, the accuser, expressed gratitude to authorities for pursuing the case and said she is hopeful for justice.
“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 55. “Now, it is time for the legal system to hold him accountable.”
The Associated Press typically does not identify individuals in sexual abuse cases, but Clemishire has chosen to make her name public.
Morris, known for his political connections, previously hosted President Donald Trump at Gateway Church’s Dallas campus in 2020 for a discussion on race relations and the economy.
If convicted, Morris faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the five charges, according to the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office.
AP
