Judge set to decide if Robert Morris criminal case will go to trial in Oklahoma
An Oklahoma district court judge is set to hear the beginning of the criminal case against former Gateway Church lead pastor Robert Morris on Thursday morning.
At the preliminary hearing in Osage County, the judge will determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence against Morris to proceed to trial, otherwise known as determining probable cause.
Morris was indicted in March on five felony charges of lewd or indecent acts to a child, the Star-Telegram previously reported. Those charges stem from accusations that Morris, who was in his 20s at the time, sexually abused Cindy Clemishire throughout the 1980s, beginning when the girl was 12 years old.
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The indictment by a multicounty grand jury gives several dates between December 1982 and January 1985 on which Morris allegedly abused Clemishire.
At the time the abuse allegedly began in December 1982, Morris was a traveling evangelist who visited Clemishire and her family in Hominy, Oklahoma, authorities said. The indictment alleges that Morris’ sexual misconduct began that Christmas and continued for the next four years.
Prosecutors believe that the statute of limitations does not apply in the case because Morris did not reside in or inhabit Oklahoma for any period of time, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office said in a March statement.
Clemishire, now grown, came forward with her story in June of last year, and Morris resigned days later from leadership of the North Texas megachurch he founded, the Star-Telegram previously reported. Several elders of Gateway Church, which is based in Southlake, were dismissed last fall after an internal investigation found they had knowledge of the abuse prior to its public disclosure.
In a statement after the indictment, Clemishire said, “After almost 43 years, the law has finally caught up with Robert Morris for the horrific crimes he committed against me as a child. Now, it is time for the legal system to hold him accountable.”
Robert Morris, Gateway Church also face lawsuits
The criminal case in Oklahoma is separate from two civil cases Morris currently faces in Tarrant County.
In one of those cases, Morris alleges that Gateway Church is using Clemishire’s allegations to get out of paying him a multi-million dollar retirement package. The judge in that case will decide Sept. 17 whether to force the parties into arbitration of the dispute.
At the center of the second lawsuit, Clemishire and her father, Jerry Lee Clemishire, claim that Morris and the Southlake church benefited financially from concealing the alleged abuse. Clemishire and her father are seeking civil damages in excess of $1 million.
That lawsuit is set for trial in Dallas County next summer, according to court documents.
This story was originally published September 3, 2025 at 4:45 PM.
