SOUTHLAKE, Texas — A woman accuses Gateway Church pastor Robert Morris of first molesting her on Christmas in 1982, when she was 12-years-old.
Cindy Clemishire, the accuser, tells WFAA the abuse continued until 1987 when she told a friend what had happened. Clemishire says she told her parents after the friend advised her to do so.
Sunday, Morris admitted he was "involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady," though he did not make reference to the girl's age.
"It was kissing and petting and not intercourse, but it was wrong," Morris said in a statement. "In March of 1987, this situation was brought to light, and it was confessed and repented of. I submitted myself to the Elders of Shady Grove Church and the young lady's father. They asked me to stop out of ministry and receive counseling and freedom ministry, which I did. Since that time, I have walked in purity and accountability in this area."
Clemishire says she'd told her story for years and tried to sue Morris in 2005, but her actions did not generate much attention.
She says a pastor recently advised her to share her story with The Wartburg Watch, a blog which calls attention to instances of alleged sexual abuse in the church. The website published Clemishire's account Friday.
"The story is gut-wrenching when I read it on paper and I've been sharing it for years," she told WFAA Sunday. "It just happens to be God's time, I think, for it to come to light."
The abuse allegedly began when Morris was already married and working as a traveling evangelist. The pastor, in his early twenties, became Clemishire's family friend and stayed with the family when he preached at their Oklahoma congregation, she said.
On Christmas in 1982, he asked the child into his room and groped her breasts and genitalia, she said. The sexual contact escalated to rape by instrumentation over the following five years, Clemishire claims.
"People should not be able to do this to children or to adults and get away with it," she said.
Morris was pastoring Shady Grove Church in Grand Prairie when Clemishire told her parents what'd happened. In 2013, Gateway Church affiliated with Shady Grove and made it its Grand Prairie campus.
"Pastor Robert has been open and forthright about a moral failure he had over 35 years ago when he was in his twenties and prior to him starting Gateway Church," the Gateway Church elders said in a statement. "He has shared publicly from the pulpit the proper Biblical steps he took in his lengthy restoration process."
Clemishire says she takes issue with the elder's characterization of Morris's restoration.
"He didn't come forward and confess. He was turned in," she said. "When someone is turned in, what are they sorry for? Are they sorry they got caught? Or are they truly repentant of what they did?"
Morris returned to Shady Grove in 1989 after two years of counselling. He says he resumed preaching with Clemishire's father's blessing, but she says that did not happen.
Her family forgave Morris, Clemishire said, but never okayed his return to the pulpit.
"I think leaders can get caught up and think it's our responsibility to protect God and it's not. Our responsibility is to protect the people," she said. "God is bigger than all of that."
Clemishire has retained Boz Tchividjian, evangelist Billy Graham's grandson, as her attorney. He has litigated hundreds of sex abuse cases.
He told WFAA that the statute of limitations for criminal or civil action related to Clemishire's case has likely expired, though they are exploring the matter.
Clemishire and Tchividjian both said they hope her case will prompt lawmakers to consider extending or eliminating the statue of limitations for sex crimes committed against children.
"My hope and prayer is for all of this to be good," Clemishire told WFAA. "For the church, for God's glory, and for other victims to find freedom."
A bio on Gateway Church's website indicates Morris had already announced plans to turn over church leadership to his son, James Morris, in spring 2025. However, Robert Morris would continue preaching some sermons, it said.
Morris did not preach Saturday's sermon at Gateway Church.
Read the full statement from Gateway Church and Morris below.
"From the Elders of Gateway Church:
Pastor Robert has been open and forthright about a moral failure he had over 35 years ago when he was in his twenties and prior to him starting at Gateway Church. He has shared publicly from the pulpit the proper Biblical steps he took in this lengthy restoration process.
The two-year restoration process was closely administered by the Elders at Shady Grove Church and included him stepping out of the ministry during that period while receiving professional counseling and freedom ministry counseling.
Since the resolution of the 35-year-old matter, there have been no other moral failures. Pastor Robert has walked in purity, and he has placed accountability measures and people in his life. The matter has been properly disclosed to church leadership.
Robert Morris states:
“When I was in my early twenties, I was involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady in a home where I was staying. It was kissing and petting and not intercourse, but it was wrong. This behavior happened on several occasions over the next few years. In March of 1987, this situation was brought to light, and it was confessed and repented of. I submitted myself to the Elders of Shady Grove Church and the young lady’s father. They asked me to step out of ministry and receive counseling and freedom ministry, which I did. Since that time, I have walked in purity and accountability in this area.
Two years later, in March of 1989, I stepped back into ministry with the full blessing of the elders and her father. In October of 1989, Debbie and I met with her and her family, and I asked their forgiveness, and they graciously forgave me.
This sin was dealt with correctly by confession and repentance, which I did in 1987 and 1989.”