News - Texas Megachurch Pastor Pleads Guilty to Child Sex Abuse

Mr. Morris was indicted in March on five counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child. He pleaded guilty in Osage County Courthouse in Pawhuska, Okla. Under a plea agreement, Mr. Morris received a 10-year suspended sentence, with the first six months to be served in the Osage County Jail. According to the agreement, Mr. Morris will be supervised once released, and he will be required to register as a sex offender. He was ordered to pay Ms. Clemishire $270,000 in restitution. According to The Dallas Morning News, Ms. Clemishire was in tears as she read a statement during Thursday’s hearing. She described how Mr. Morris’s abuse had affected her understanding of love and led her to believe her body “was not sacred.” “I am not a victim; I am a survivor,” Ms. Clemishire said in a statement, according to The Dallas Morning News. Mr. Morris did not look at Ms. Clemishire as she spoke, The Dallas Morning News reported. According to video footage posted by the publication, Mr. Morris was led out of court in handcuffs and flanked by court officers. Bill Mateja, a lawyer for Mr. Morris, said in a statement that Mr. Morris “sincerely apologizes” to Ms. Clemishire and her family and “asks for their forgiveness.”