Robert Morris, who formerly served as a “spiritual adviser’ to President Donald Trump, has pleaded guilty to child abuse charges.
Per NBC News, the pastor, who founded the mega Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, entered a guilty plea to an Oklahoma district court on Thursday (Oct. 2).
Morris was given a 10-year sentence and taken into custody following the hearing. As part of his negotiated plea agreement, he will only serve six months of his 10-year sentence in county jail and must register as a sex offender.
The pastor pleaded guilty to five felony counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child after a woman alleged that he had sexually abused them throughout the ‘80s.
The woman, Cindy Clemishire, said in June 2024 that Morris had molested her when she was 12. Just days after she made the accusations, Morris stepped down from his position at Gateway Church, which has one of the largest congregations of any church in the U.S.
Morris didn't deny the allegations at the time and said that he made “a moral failure” with a “young lady.”
Clemishire said that the abuse started in 1982, when Morris worked as a traveling evangelist at the time and frequently stayed with Clemishire’s family. She claimed that he had invited her to his room and molested her over several years.
Clemishire said that he told her, “Never tell anyone about this, it will ruin everything.”
She said she first told her parents and local church leaders about the incidents in 1987 and sought $50,000 in restitution from him in the early 2000s, but his lawyer wrote a letter stating that she had engaged in “inappropriate behavior” with him when she was a child.
Morris offered her $25,000 at the time, but she refused to sign a nondisclosure agreement, so they never reached a conclusion.
An investigation was opened after Morris resigned from Gateway, and he was indicted in March 2025. He pleaded not guilty during his first court appearance earlier this year and was released on a $50,000 bond.
Morris previously worked as a spiritual advisor to Trump following his 2016 presidential campaign, and the president appeared at Gateway Church in June 2020. Trump’s team distanced itself from Morris in 2024 following the news of the allegations.
