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Gateway Church Founding Pastor Robert Morris Released From Oklahoma Jail
Robert Morris received a 10-year suspended sentence, six months in jail, $270,000 in damages, lifetime sex-offender registration, and probation after pleading guilty to child sexual abuse.
- On Tuesday, March 31, 2026, Robert Morris, former lead pastor of Gateway Church, was released from Osage County Jail in Oklahoma after completing a six-month sentence for sexually abusing Cindy Clemishire beginning in 1982.
- Morris pleaded guilty on October 2, 2025, to five felony counts of lewd or indecent acts, admitting he abused Clemishire for four years starting when she was 12 years old.
- Under his plea agreement, Morris received 9.5 years of probation, must register as a lifetime sex offender, and paid $270,000 in restitution to Clemishire.
- While the criminal case concluded, Clemishire pursues a defamation lawsuit against Morris and Gateway, and Morris separately seeks more than $1 million in retirement benefits from the church.
- Morris plans to serve his supervised probation at his $1.5 million lakefront home in Palo Pinto County, Texas, where he stated he intends to "focus on family and live quietly and with integrity.
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25 Articles
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The founder of a Texas megachurch who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a minor in the 1980s was released Tuesday after serving six months in jail…
·Lancaster, United States
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Texas megachurch pastor Robert Morris is free after 6 months in an Oklahoma jail for child sex abuse
The founder of a Texas megachurch who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a child in the 1980s was released Tuesday after serving six months in an Oklahoma jail.
·Atlanta, United States
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·Oklahoma City, United States
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources25
Leaning Left9Leaning Right4Center10Last UpdatedBias Distribution44% Center
Bias Distribution
- 44% of the sources are Center
44% Center
L 39%
C 44%
R 17%
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