Robert Morris is a former pastor of Gateway Church, a Texas megachurch. He was released from an Oklahoma jail on March 31, 2026, after serving just six months for child sex abuse. Morris pleaded guilty in 2025 to five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child. Prosecutors said the abuse began in 1982, when he was a traveling evangelist staying with a family in Hominy, Oklahoma, and the victim was only 12 years old. Authorities said the abuse continued over the next four years.
After his release, Morris admitted what he did was wrong and said there was no excuse for it.
Despite pleading guilty to five felony counts, Morris received a 10 year suspended sentence under a plea deal that required him to serve only the first six months in the Osage County Jail. He now must register as a sex offender, remain under supervision in Texas, and pay restitution and incarceration costs.
Parents must understand being part of a religious institution is not proof of moral character. Predators do not always look monstrous or off. Sometimes they are in robes and holding a bible.
The danger of men like Morris is not only in what they do, but in how easily communities are taught to excuse and protect them because they speak the language of faith and authority.
It is becoming far too common for predators to get away with their crimes. When are we finally going to say enough is enough?
