Robert Morris has black eye in new sex offender registry photo. His attorney explains why.

A new photo of convicted megachurch pastor Robert Morris that was shared on the Texas sex offender registry's website shows that he recently suffered an incident that left him with a black eye. His attorney offered an explanation when asked.

CBS News Texas reviewed the photo, which was uploaded to the system on Tuesday. It shows a prominent black mark under his right eye, curving upward toward the outer edge. Bill Mateja, an attorney for Morris, shared more information when contacted.

"Last week, Pastor Robert was in his garage and leaned over to pick something up.  When he raised up, he passed out and fell.  He first hit a car door and then fell to the concrete floor.  His wife, Debbie, was with him at the time," Mateja said in a statement sent to CBS News Texas via email. 

"An ambulance took Pastor Robert to the emergency room. Although Pastor Robert broke three bones in his face, it was determined that he was otherwise okay. Medical staff believe this might have been caused by the act of raising up coupled with him having recently taken his blood pressure medication on an empty stomach," he added.

Why is Robert Morris on the sex offender registry?

Morris, who founded the Southlake, Texas-based megachurch known as Gateway Church, pleaded guilty in October 2025 to charges of indecent conduct with a child. The charges stem from an investigation into allegations that he sexually abused a young girl in Oklahoma more than 40 years ago.

The plea was entered during a scheduled hearing in Osage County, Oklahoma. Afterward, Morris was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with all but six months suspended. He is now serving 9.5 years of probation and will spend the rest of his life on the sex offender registry. He was also ordered to pay the victim, Cindy Clemishire, $270,000 in restitution.

Morris was released from jail in March of 2026. An automated notice sent by court officials showed Morris left the jail in Pawhuska, and the Osage County Sheriff's Office said Morris was released in the early morning hours due to safety concerns.

Clemishire, the now adult woman Morris admitted to molesting when she was just 12 years old, shared a statement at the time acknowledging his release. When the verdict came in, she spoke to CBS News Texas.

"The most important thing for me was that he pled guilty to all five counts, and that he'd served some amount of time," she said. "And, while most people think it's not enough, for me, it ensured that he would spend time behind bars."

Court records indicate Morris intends to serve out his probation at his $1.5 million lakefront home in Palo Pinto County. He is required to report his whereabouts to a probation officer and is barred from consuming alcohol, carrying a gun, or associating with other convicted felons.

How did the case come to light?

The allegations against Morris first came to light in 2024, after Clemishire shared her story with the Wartburg Watch, a blog chronicling cases of church abuse. The revelation led to Morris' resignation from Gateway.

When the allegations surfaced in 2024, Gateway Church initially denied that Morris had engaged in sexual relations with a minor. Church elders later reversed course, and Morris resigned on June 18, 2024.

Clemishire later said she believed she was not the only victim. 

"Though I am grateful that he is no longer a pastor at Gateway, I am disappointed that the Board of Elders allowed him to resign," she wrote in a statement at the time. "He should have been terminated."

At the time, Morris had radio and television programs with a global reach. He'd also written books and served as an advisor to President Donald Trump.

Morris' son, who had been chosen to take over leadership of the church the following year, in 2025, also left, as well as elders who were alleged to have known about Morris' history with Clemishire.

According to the Oklahoma attorney general's office, the abuse began in 1982. At the time, Morris was a traveling evangelist staying with Clemishire's family in Hominy, Oklahoma. The abuse continued for four years, Clemishire has said.

Morris had acknowledged in a 2014 sermon that he was "sexually immoral" as a young man and later admitted to an inappropriate relationship with a young woman. Still, he never publicly revealed Clemishire's age at the time.

Are there ongoing legal issues?

The church and Morris remain involved in other cases. In May of 2026, Morris and Gateway Church ended their Tarrant County legal fight over a multimillion-dollar retirement package, moving the proceedings out of court and into arbitration. That came less than two months after Morris' release from jail.

Clemishire, along with her father, filed a $1 million defamation suit in Dallas County against Morris, his wife, Debbie, the church, its current and former elders, and a church staff member. That case is currently under review at the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas.

In federal court, the church is facing a lawsuit from its insurer and a class-action suit by former members alleging it misused millions in donations. The church has denied the allegations.