A woman has accused the pastor of a Texas megachurch of sexually assaulting her when she was 12, with the pastor only admitting to “inappropriate sexual conduct with a young lady.”
Robert Morris, the 62-year-old founder and senior pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake, which claims a weekly attendance of 100,000, is facing Cindy Clemishire’s allegations.
She alleged that the pastor, who was also once a spiritual adviser to former President Donald Trump, abused her from 1982 to 1987, when she was between 12 and 16 years old.
Clemishire, who went public with her allegations and revealed her identity on Friday, said Morris was a traveling preacher when she met her and her family at their church in Oklahoma in 1981.
The two families — including Morris’ wife and son — became close, and Clemishire alleged that Morris’ abuse began when he stayed at her family home in Tulsa on Christmas 1982.
A woman has accused Robert Morris, the pastor of a Texas megachurch, of sexually assaulting her when she was 12, with the pastor only admitting to “inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady.”
Robert Morris, 62, founder and senior pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake, which claims a weekly attendance of 100,000, faces Cindy Clemishire’s allegations (pictured)
She describes a scene in which Morris asked her to come to his room and talk to him, and asked her to lie on his bed.
Morris began touching her inappropriately, with Clemishire claiming he touched her stomach, then her chest and then under her pants.
‘I vividly remember everything I wore and what the pajamas felt like. They were light pink, and it was a top with bloomers, and I had underwear on and bloomers and the top and a robe that clicked over it,” she said.
Clemishire adds that after the alleged abuse occurred, Morris “told me I could never tell anyone because it would ruin everything.”
She says he would continue to isolate and abuse her for the next four and a half years before she finally spoke out, first to a family friend and then to her parents.
Clemishire’s father demanded Morris be removed from office and she claims he did so for two years to undergo “restoration.” In 1989 he returned to preaching.
Morris, in turn, admitted that he had done wrong, although he never admitted in a statement that Clemishire was a minor at the time. The Christian Post on Saturday.
“In my early 20s, I was involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady at a house where I was staying. It was kissing and petting and not intercourse, but it was wrong. This behavior happened several times over the next few years,” he said.
Morris is the founder and senior pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake, which claims 100,000 attendees weekly and was also once a spiritual advisor to former President Donald Trump
Morris (pictured with his wife), 62, was accused by Cindy Clemishire of abusing her from 1982 to 1987, when she was between 12 and 16 years old
He claims to have ‘repented’ in March 1987 when the allegations became public and said he had been given ‘counseling and ministry of liberty’.
Morris says he and his wife met Clemishire and her family in October 1989 and “asked for their forgiveness, and they graciously forgave me.”
He also claims that when he returned to the ministry, he did so with the “full blessing” of Clemishire’s father.
Clemishire told the Dallas Morning News that this is not entirely the truth.
‘Of course we want to forgive, we are called to forgive. But he has never had the blessing in my family to be back in ministry,” she said.
“We don’t believe that someone who did something like this should be an overseer for anyone in any industry, but especially not in the church.”
She also doesn’t believe Morris ever truly repented for his abuse and his statement proves that.
“I don’t think it’s contrite for someone to call a 12-year-old a ‘young lady’ and try to dismiss what happened as just a heavy pat-down,” Clemishire said.
Clemishire describes a scene in which Morris asked her to come to his room and talk to him, asking her to lie on his bed.
Morris says he and his wife met Clemishire and her family in October 1989 and “asked for their forgiveness, and they graciously forgave me.”
‘I don’t think that’s remorse. There is not a child on earth to whom anyone would ever have to do that. It’s simply unacceptable. There is no excuse whatsoever.’
“He didn’t come forward to confess. He was reported,” she said. ‘If someone is reported, what does he or she regret? Do they regret being caught? Or do they really repent of what they did?’
The pair have argued about this in court in the past, as she sued him in 2005 and wanted him to pay $50,000 to cover therapy costs.
Morris, through an attorney, accused her of “seeking” the pastor’s sexual advances and tried to get her to sign a non-disclosure agreement in exchange for $25,000. She didn’t take the deal.
The pastor served on Trump’s “evangelical advisory board” for his 2016 presidential campaign and visited Gateway in 2020 for a panel discussion.
A statement on behalf of the other leaders and elders of Gateway Church also seeks to exonerate Morris.
“Pastor Robert has been open and candid about a moral failure he had more than 35 years ago, in his 20s and before he started Gateway Church. “He has publicly shared from the pulpit the proper biblical steps he has taken in his lengthy recovery process,” they said.
However, Morris did not lead the church during services on Saturday and the church has not issued any statements or given interviews in response to the resurfaced allegations.
The couple has argued about this in court in the past, as she sued him in 2005 and wanted him to pay $50,000 to cover therapy costs.
Morris, through an attorney, accused her of “seeking” the pastor’s sexual advances and tried to get her to sign a non-disclosure agreement in exchange for $25,000. She didn’t take the deal
“We are not conducting interviews or providing additional statements at this time,” Gateway Media Executive Director Lawrence Swicegood said in a statement.
Clemishire has hired Boz Tchividjian to represent her in another potential lawsuit WFAA. Tchividjian is the grandson of evangelist Billy Graham.
“My hope and prayer is that this will all be good. For the church, for God’s glory, and for other victims to find freedom,” she said.
Morris has never been criminally charged and the statute of limitations for such a case has long since expired.