OKLAHOMA CITY (OK)
The Roys Report [Chicago IL]
March 17, 2025
By Sheila Stogsdill
Disgraced preacher Robert Morris surrendered to authorities in Osage County, Oklahoma, this morning, after being indicted last week on child sex charges, stemming from the 1980s.
The founder of Dallas-area Gateway Church walked into the Osage County Sheriff’s Office just before 8 a.m., according to a booking sheet obtained by The Roys Report (TRR). He was accompanied by his attorney, Oklahoma City criminal defense attorney, Mack Martin, and a bail bondsman.
Morris was taken into custody, handcuffed, and had his mugshot taken. He then had a “special arraignment,” a clerk in Judge Cindy Pickerell’s office told TRR. Sources close to the investigation said that during the arraignment, the judge would enter a plea of not guilty.
Morris, 63, was released on $50,000 bail bond. He is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing on May 9.
Phone calls left for his attorney were not returned.
Last Thursday, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed a five-page indictment against Morris, accusing him of sexual misconduct involving a 12-year-old Oklahoma girl, beginning on Christmas night, 1982.
That preteen, Cindy Clemishire, now an adult woman and grandmother, went public on June 14, 2024, about the alleged sexual assault. Days later, Morris stepped down from Gateway, one of the largest megachurches in the country.
After the indictment last week, Clemishire released a statement addressing Morris’ alleged abuse, which occurred between 1982 and 1987.
“After almost 43 years, the law has finally caught up with Robert Morris for the horrific crimes he committed against me as a child,” she said. “Now, it is time for the legal system to hold him accountable. My family and I are deeply grateful to the authorities who have worked tirelessly to make this day possible and remain hopeful that justice will ultimately prevail.”
Morris’ case will be heard in Osage County District Court because the alleged multiple acts occurred in Hominy, Oklahoma, an Osage County community.
Previously, it was thought that criminal charges could not be brought because the statute of limitations had expired in this case.
However, Attorney General Gentner Drummond, also Clemishire’s attorney around 2005 when he was in private practice, stated: “The statute of limitations is not applicable in this case because Morris was not a resident or inhabitant of Oklahoma at any time.”
In a confession letter to his congregation before stepping down from a worldwide pulpit, Morris admitted that “in my early twenties, I was involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady in a home where I was staying.” Morris described the behavior as “petting and not intercourse” and said it happened “on several occasions over the next few years.”
Clemishire said in an earlier interview that she was “not a ‘young lady,’” as Gateway’s statement said. “I was a child. I was an innocent little girl.” She also said the abuse escalated from inappropriate touching to rape by instrumentation.
The Oklahoma woman described her wardrobe in 1982 when Morris allegedly assaulted her.
“I was wearing pink pajamas with bloomer pants over my underwear, and I had on a snap-up robe,” Clemishire said in an earlier interview with TRR.
The alleged sexual abuse continued until Clemishire was 17 years old and told her parents about the years of abuse.
On Saturday, Gateway executive pastor Nic Lesmeister addressed the congregation, saying, “I’m sure that stirred up a lot of emotion for you,” as CBS Texas reported.
“It stirred up a lot of emotion for us, and reliving our challenging history can be at times odd. We don’t know what to do with our emotions.”
Since Gateway is no longer affiliated with Morris nor in the investigation, the church is not providing further updates, the CBS news outlet reported.
*This article has been updated.
Booking sheet – Osage County Sheriff’s Office – Mar. 17, 2025
Please see original article for the booking sheet