Robert Morris, founder of Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, formally surrendered to the Osage County Sheriff’s Office in Oklahoma Monday morning and is reportedly expected to enter a not-guilty plea in court days after being indicted on five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child by a multi-county grand jury in that state last Wednesday.
Arrest documents reviewed by The Christian Post show that Morris was formally booked at 7:57 a.m. and released at 8:11 a.m. on a $50,000 bail bond.
Morris’ attorney, Mack Martin, declined to comment more specifically on the charges but told The Associated Press he expects to enter not guilty plea on the megachurch founder’s behalf at an arraignment scheduled for 3 p.m. Monday.
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Morris’ surrender comes just hours after Gateway Church officials offered prayers to congregants and sought to distance the church from their embattled former leader.
The charges stem from allegations made by the now 54-year-old Cindy Clemishire last June that Morris sexually abused her over multiple years in the 1980s when he was a traveling evangelist, beginning when she was 12.
Nic Lesmeister, Gateway Church’s executive pastor of global outreach, reiterated in an address Sunday that Morris, who resigned over the allegations last June, no longer has any formal ties to the church.
“Last November, our elders made it clear that we had drawn a bright line as a church, and we were moving forward. And because we’re moving forward, and Gateway is no longer involved in this legal matter, we won’t be continuing to update you on the proceedings of the case, but we’re continuing to pray for everybody that’s involved and affected in this matter,” Lesmeister explained.
In a statement following Morris’ indictment, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who served as Clemishire’s attorney while he was in private practice in 2005, said Morris’ alleged crimes were “more despicable” because he was a pastor when they occurred.
“There can be no tolerance for those who sexually prey on children,” he said. “This case is all the more despicable because the alleged perpetrator was a pastor who exploited his position. The victim in this case has waited far too many years for justice to be done.”
In 2005 and 2007, Drummond tried to negotiate a settlement with Morris for Clemishire. But Morris allegedly refused to provide assistance unless she signed a non-disclosure agreement.
Nearly 43 years after Clemishire’s alleged abuse, she told CP in a statement that she was grateful that the law had finally caught up with Morris.
“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,” she said. “My family and I are deeply grateful to the authorities who have worked tirelessly to make this day possible and remain hopeful that justice will ultimately prevail.”
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