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Disgraced former megachurch pastor Robert Morris has been released from an Oklahoma prison, according to a Tuesday morning WFAA report. The 64-year-old Gateway Church founder had been serving a six-month term he was sentenced to in 2025 for five felony counts of child abuse in the 1980s.
Just two years ago Morris was one of the most prominent evangelical voices in the country as not only the face of Gateway, one of the nation’s largest churches, but as a noted author, radio and television personality and as a member of President Donald Trump’s evangelical advisory board during the 2016 presidential election.
But in June of 2024, Cindy Clemishire went public with allegations that Morris had sexually abused her multiple times decades ago when she was 12 years old and Morris was a newly married preacher in his 20s. Later it was revealed that the abuse lasted for four years.
A swift downfall proceeded for Morris and for his church. After initially denying Clemishire’s accusations, dismissing the actions as an inappropriate relationship with “a young lady,” Morris resigned from his position. At the time, a number of Gateway leaders denied any prior knowledge of the abuse, however, documents revealed later suggested otherwise.
In March of 2025, Morris was indicted in Osage County on counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child and in October, he was sentenced to serve six months of a suspended 10-year sentence in an Oklahoma jail. At the time, Clemishire stated that “justice has finally been served, and the man who manipulated, groomed and abused me as a 12-year-old innocent girl is finally going to be behind bars.”
When reached on Tuesday, Gateway declined to comment.
Although Morris is arguably the highest profile pastor to fall from grace over the past two years, North Texas has seen an alarming number of church leaders representing all sizes of congregations get arrested or resign due to sexual misconduct. In September, John McKinzie of Hope Fellowship in Frisco stepped down after church elders discovered “multiple breaches of collective trust and his pastoral responsibilities” related to sexual misconduct. In February, Arlington pastor Troy Hernandez was charged with sexual misconduct with a child.
Morris’ six-month sentence was scheduled to end on April 2, but Osage County Jail officials confirmed to WFAA on Tuesday that Morris was indeed already released.
