Reporting the Truth.
Restoring the Church.
By Sheila Stogsdill
On Sept. 4, 2025, Robert Morris exits the Osage County Courthouse in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. (TRR Graphic)
Disgraced former megachurch pastor Robert Morris waived his right to a preliminary hearing at a court appearance Thursday morning regarding accusations he sexually abused a 12-year-old girl over four decades ago.
Flanked by attorneys and wife Debbie, Morris appeared before Judge Cindy Pickerell at the Osage County District Court in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. Morris confirmed he understood the implications of waiving the hearing.
Preliminary hearings are where a judge decides if there’s sufficient probable cause to proceed with a case. It’s also where unfavorable testimony may be heard.
Earlier this year, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed a five-page indictment against Morris, alleging five counts of lewd molestation.
Pickerell ordered the 63-year-old Morris to return to court on Oct. 2 for his district court arraignment. During that court appearance, Morris will be able to enter a plea regarding the charges, ask for additional time, request a motion hearing, or set the case for trial.
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On Sept. 4, 2025, Robert Morris enters his vehicle as he leaves the Osage County Courthouse in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. (Photo: Sheila Stogsdill
Morris, dressed in a dark suit and gold tie, sat approximately 10 feet from his alleged victim, Cindy Clemishire, now a grandmother. Clemishire has publicly accused the former Gateway Church founder of sexual misconduct, ranging from inappropriate touching to rape by instrumentation beginning Christmas Day 1982 through 1987. Clemishire said the abuse ended when she was 17 years old and told her parents about Morris’s behavior.
Shortly before resigning from Gateway Church in 2024, Morris released a statement to his congregation admitting that for several years in his early 20s, he “was involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady in a home where I was staying.” Morris described the behavior as “petting and not intercourse.”
Clemishire has disagreed with Morris’s characterization of her as a “young lady.” She described herself as “a child,” wearing pink pajamas with bloomer pants over her underwear and a snap-up robe when Morris allegedly assaulted her.Cindy Clemishire (Video screengrab)
In June, Clemishire’s attorneys filed a $1 million civil lawsuit against Gateway and more than a dozen current and former Gateway elders and media directors, along with Morris and his wife. She accused them of defamation after Morris called the sexual assault a “moral failure” involving a “young lady,” despite knowing Clemishire was 12 when it began.
Throughout the 10-minute hearing, Clemishire and her family observed Morris, who kept his gaze on the judge and did not look at the Clemishire family.
Clemishire previously released a statement addressing the decades-old allegations.
“After almost 43 years, the law has finally caught up with Robert Morris for the horrific crimes he committed against me as a child,” she said. “Now, it is time for the legal system to hold him accountable. 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.”
While in private practice, Drummond was Clemishire’s attorney in 2007 and sought to file a civil suit against Morris. Morris’s attorneys offered Clemishire $25,000 and wanted her to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
Clemishire said earlier that all she wanted was for Morris to admit to the charges.
If convicted, the famed Texas televangelist is facing up to 100 years in prison.
This article has been updated.
Sheila Stogsdill is a freelance print journalist and digital reporter, primarily covering crime issues for KSN/KODE.
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