Ex-megachurch founder hit with $1M lawsuit claiming sexual abuse and elaborate cover-up scheme
The suit, filed this week in Dallas County District court, accuses Gateway Church founder Robert Morris and others of libel, malice, defamation, slander, failure to report, civil conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress and unjust enrichment.
They are seeking more than $1 million in damages.
Cindy Clemishire and her father, Jerry Lee Clemishire, filed the suit less than a year after sharing the allegations with a religious watchdog blog, The Wartburg Watch.
Cindy, 53, claimed she met Morris in 1981 while he was preaching at her church in Oklahoma and their families became close.
She said Morris touched her inappropriately while staying at her house in 1982, and continued for the next four-and-a-half years.
An Oklahoma grand jury in March indicted Morris on five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child. He is currently out on bond.
In the newly filed suit, Cindy alleges Morris' wife, sons and church members attempted to cover up the abuse for financial gain, according to a report from affiliate FOX 4.
"[The] defendants acted in concert, cooperated with each other and conspired to maximize their profits through their unlawful and unjust course of action to fraudulently conceal and cover up the rape of Plaintiff," according to court documents.
Morris resigned in June 2024 and later filed a lawsuit against the church, stating his "highly inappropriate" relationship with a minor was not a breach of contract, and Gateway Church should fulfill its contractual financial obligations to him.
Church officials said he would have received millions in deferred compensation, additional retirement benefits and a severance payment, according to the report.
Gateway Church declined Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Donald Trump Repeats False Claim Beyoncé Was Paid $11 Million To Endorse Kamala Harris; Calls To Prosecute Singer, Oprah & Al Sharpton
On Saturday, Donald Trump repeated false claims that Beyoncé was paid $11 million to endorse Kamala Harris on the campaign trail in October of last year. The Truth Social post comes as the president faces scrutiny from his own base over the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Taking to his social media platform yesterday, the GOP leader wrote, 'I'm looking at the large amount of money owed by the Democrats, after the Presidential Election, and the fact that they admit to paying, probably illegally, Eleven Million Dollars to singer Beyoncé for an ENDORSEMENT (she never sang, not one note, and left the stage to a booing and angry audience!), Three Million Dollars for 'expenses,' to Oprah, Six Hundred Thousand Dollars to very low rated TV 'anchor,' Al Sharpton (a total lightweight!), and others to be named for doing, absolutely NOTHING! These ridiculous fees were incorrectly stated in the books and records. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PAY FOR AN ENDORSEMENT. IT IS TOTALLY ILLEGAL TO DO SO. Can you imagine what would happen if politicians started paying for people to endorse them. All hell would break out! Kamala, and all of those that received Endorsement money, BROKE THE LAW. They should all be prosecuted! Thank you for your attention to this matter.' More from Deadline Beyoncé Reunites Destiny's Child For Final 'Cowboy Carter' Tour Stop In Vegas Stephen Colbert Praises 'South Park's Naked AI Trump PSA: "An Important Message Of Hope" Donald Trump Denies Being Briefed That His Name Appeared In Jeffrey Epstein Files, Despite Wall Street Journal Report That He Was Informed Trump is referring to the 35-time Grammy-winning artist's appearance at a rally in Houston, where the singer took to the stage to endorse the vice president and call for unity. 'It's time to sing a new song, a song that began 248 years ago. The old notes of downfall, discord, despair no longer resonate. Our generations of loved ones before us are whispering a prophecy, a quest, a calling, an anthem. Our moment right now — it's time for America to sing a new song. Our voices sing a chorus of unity. They sing a song of dignity and opportunity,' she said to the crowd. Federal campaign spending records show a $165,000 payment made from the Democratic presidential candidate's organization to Beyoncé's production company, per CNN, with 'campaign event production' listed as the reasoning for the expenditure. Last year, senior spokesperson for the Harris campaign Adrienne Elrod told Deadline that the campaign did not pay any celebrity endorsers but was required by campaign finance law to cover costs associated with holding such events, per Federal Election Commission rules. This accounts for the $1 million the Harris campaign spent on Oprah's Harpo Productions, as the famed TV personality endorsed her at a Michigan-held 'Unite for America' event in September 2024. The baseless allegation was fact-checked by websites and PolitiFact last year, though Trump repeated his sentiments about Beyoncé, Oprah and Al Sharpton back in February. Trump has also previously harped on the matter in a post made back in May, where he named other influential Harris endorsers like Bruce Springsteen and Bono, calling for a 'major investigation.' There's also no evidence to suggest such expenses were incorrectly categorized, and though Trump maintained payment for endorsement is illegal, there's actually no FEC law that prohibits such campaigns for paying for endorsements, though they must disclose such expenditures. Best of Deadline Celebs Supporting Zohran Mamdani In New York's Mayoral Race: From Ramy Youssef To Cynthia Nixon The Fox News To White House Pipeline: TV Personalities Who Joined The Trump Administration Celebrities Voting And Encouraging Voting In The 2024 Election
CBS News
10 minutes ago
- CBS News
More than 30 cars vandalized in Massachusetts as police search for suspect seen on video
More than 30 vehicles were vandalized in Quincy, Massachusetts over the weekend, leaving dozens of residents facing costly damage. Angela Taylor, a North Quincy resident, was returning from vacation when she learned her car had been among those targeted. "It's frustrating, considering the fact that you come back from vacation, you're expecting to relax and now you have to go and file a police report and let your insurance know and try to figure out how to remedy the damage to the car that you don't want rusting come New England winters," said Taylor. Taylor lives in a condominium complex that she said is in a safe neighborhood in North Quincy. "I think if you have a nice vehicle especially, then you're going to be far more concerned now parking your car out," she said. "And we live in a condo that's supposed to be safe and North Quincy's supposed to be safe." According to neighbors and home surveillance video, the suspect was seen walking up and down Oakridge scratching cars with a rock. The act has left residents shaken. "We want the policemen to find him right away and do something," said Vicky Zhang. Zhang said that at least seven or eight cars on her street were scratched up by the suspect. She shared Ring video with WBZ-TV that shows the suspect, dressed in all black, walking up and down the block. Taylor said this isn't the first time vandalism has occurred in the neighborhood. "30 [cars] is a lot and considering this is not the first time this has happened in the area either, I think it's increasingly frustrating because it happened around Christmas as well, my car was keyed up then too," said Taylor. The Quincy Police Department is asking anyone with information or surveillance video to contact them as the investigation continues.
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Fleeing Motorcyclist Walks Away From 100-Plus MPH Crash
Read the full story on The Auto Wire A man fleeing from police at speeds over 100 mph crashed his motorcycle on a Los Angeles highway, then walked away. Actually, he started with walking, then jogged down the side of the road, we guess trying to figure out another way to escape from the seen so many police chases like this one end badly with the suspect and perhaps others dying in a horrific crash. This time it at first looked like the guy was going to be street pizza, but he apparently drove for the slide instead of just the ride and that paid off. Sure, he eventually was caught by police after trying to escape on foot. But that's better than if he had died or been horrifically mangled. At least once he gets out of jail or prison or whatever, he can just keep living his life. Originally, the motorcyclist took off from an attempted traffic stop by California Highway Patrol for speeding. He must have heard if he went fast enough police would just back off. And they did. However, a police helicopter was overhead tracking his every move. That meant he couldn't see the cruisers behind him, but surely he could see he was traveling in one giant spot light. Still, the guy pushed his bike to 140 mph at one point, just weaving through slower traffic and cutting it super close repeatedly. It's a miracle he didn't run into some truck with a steel bumper while he was doing that. Instead, his motorcycle went down in a shower of sparks for a reason we can't perceive. Its possible he hit a rough patch in the pavement, his bike suffered death wobble and he dumped it, or maybe he clipped a car. Whatever it was, all that protective gear he was wearing did its job. This is why you wear that stuff while riding. Image via ABC7 Join our Newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube page, and follow us on Facebook.
