Robert Morris Released After Six Months for 1980s Abuse

Robert Morris, the founder of a prominent Texas megachurch, was released early Tuesday from an Oklahoma jail after serving six months of a sentence for sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl in the 1980s.

Morris, 64, walked free just after midnight from the Osage County Jail, according to Sheriff's Capt. Matt Clark. He had pleaded guilty last October to five felony counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child under a plea agreement that imposed a 10-year suspended sentence. The first six months required incarceration, followed by probation supervised by Texas authorities through an interstate compact. Morris also must register as a sex offender, pay restitution to the victim and cover his incarceration costs, including medical expenses.

The abuse occurred between December 1982 and January 1985 in Hominy, Oklahoma, where Morris, then a traveling evangelist in his early 20s, was staying with the victim's family. The victim, Cindy Clemishire, now in her 50s, publicly identified herself and detailed the incidents, which prosecutors described as manipulation and grooming. The case was prosecuted by the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office under Gentner Drummond, following an indictment by...