While sexual abuse survivor advocates are hailing Morris’ plea and sentencing as a victory, some are also lamenting the brevity of the former pastor’s prison term.
“Robert Morris ‘led away in handcuffs.’ Great photo! Bravo to Cindy!” said advocate and author Christa Brown. “6 months is too little, and yet…it’s so rare to see a pastor-child-molester face any punishment at all. I’d give my eye-teeth to see my own pastor-rapist in handcuffs. So would 100s more #ChurchToo survivors.”
“Former megachurch pastor, Robert Morris, pleads guilty to child sexual abuse and is required to register as a sex offender. However, he will only have to serve 6 months in the county jail,” said attorney Boz Tchividjian. “The 12 year old child he abused is now an adult and was able to watch him being led out of the courtroom in handcuffs. Too bad the time he spends in jail will be so short for such an egregious crime.”
“Predator pastor, Robert Morris, has [pleaded] guilty of sexually abusing a child, but thanks to a plea deal (WHY?!) he’ll only serve 6 months in jail,” said author Jennifer Greenberg. “How long do you think it will take before some stupid church ‘forgives’ him and makes him a pastor again?”
Nevertheless, while the nature of Morris’ crimes are shocking given his reputation as a pastor who has advised a president, Texas attorney Letitia Quinones-Hollins told CBS News that the sentence Morris received is “an appropriate sentence.”
“One would argue [that Morris] certainly atoned for [his crimes]. One would argue that he has been rehabilitated,” said Quinones-Hollins. “One would argue that he does respect the law, and we doubt very seriously at 64 years old that he would commit any new law violations.”
Quinones-Hollins explained that cases of this nature often end in plea deals because “the defendant and/or his attorney do not want to take a chance with a jury.”
On the other hand, Quinones-Hollins said that Clemishire’s willingness to come forward and the prosecutor’s willingness “to step out on faith and bring these charges against someone like this says a lot of their bravery and a lot of what they believe in.”
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Morris will serve his prison sentence at the Osage County Jail in Oklahoma.
