Gateway founder Pastor Robert Morris released from jail after pleading guilty to child sex abuse
The former Gateway Church pastor completed the six-month jail portion of his Oklahoma sentence and remains subject to sex offender registration, probation, and restitution.
Robert Morris, the founder and former senior pastor of Gateway Church, was released from the Osage County jail in Oklahoma shortly after midnight Tuesday, according to court and jail records cited by multiple news outlets.
Morris pleaded guilty in October 2025 to five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child. Oklahoma authorities said the abuse began in 1982, when Cindy Clemishire was 12. Under the plea agreement, Morris received a 10-year suspended sentence, with the first six months to be served in county jail.
His release does not close the case entirely. Morris remains subject to lifetime sex offender registration, probation, restitution, and other court-ordered penalties. He resigned from Gateway in 2024 after the allegations became public, and the case drew national attention because of his role in one of North Texas’ best-known megachurches.
The jail term is over. The conviction and its consequences remain.
Sources: Dallas Morning News; Associated Press; KERA; Oklahoma Attorney General court and case materials.