Texas megachurch founder to spend 6 months in jail for sexually abusing girl

The founder of a Texas megachurch who previously resigned following allegations of sexual abuse dating back to the 1980s has pleaded guilty to five counts of lewd and indecent acts with a child, according to authorities. 

Robert Preston Morris, 64, accepted a plea agreement before an Oklahoma judge Thursday, the state attorney general’s office said in a statement. 

Authorities revealed the abuse began in 1982, when Morris visited a 12-year-old girl’s family as a traveling evangelist, and it continued over the span of four years. 

Cindy Clemishire leaves the Osage County courthouse where Texas megachurch founder Robert Morris pleaded guilty to child sex crimes in Pawhuska Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.  (Nolan Clay/The Oklahoman via USA Today)

Last year, Morris reportedly told The Christian Post that, while in his early 20s, he was “involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady in a home where I was staying,” adding that it was “kissing and petting, not intercourse, but it was wrong.” 

Morris previously served on President Donald Trump’s evangelical advisory board, according to The Associated Press. In 2020, the church reportedly hosted Trump for a discussion on race relations and the economy at its Dallas campus. 

Gateway Church declined Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

“Today is a new beginning for me, my family and friends who have been by my side through this horrendous journey,” Clemishire said. “I leave this courtroom today not as a victim, but a survivor.”