Latest news with #Clemishire
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gateway megachurch announces it is cutting services as it continues to face blowback from Robert Morris sex-abuse allegations
A Texas megachurch that has been losing members and facing mass layoffs amid allegations that its pastor sexually abused a young girl for years, announced it would be cutting services. Gateway Church, which once regularly drew over 100,000 worshippers, says it will be cutting Saturday services at nearly all of its locations, excluding its main Southlake campus. "As we continue to strengthen our relationship with the Gateway Church family and community, we're making a shift at several of our DFW campuses by hosting our church services on Sundays only," a church spokesperson told WFAA. "This adjustment will allow us to minister to and love our congregation well while prioritizing the needs of our individual campus communities. Throughout all our locations, our commitment to loving God and loving people remains unchanged." The church, one of the largest American megachurches, has previously acknowledged decreased attendance and financial issues, which it said last month would soon amount to mass layoffs of staff. The church did not specify how many people would lose their jobs. Turmoil at the church comes after a grand jury indicted its pastor, Robert Morris, in March on five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child. Morris, who founded Gateway Church 25 years ago, is currently out on bond while awaiting trial. The pastor has pleaded not guilty but stepped down from his role at the church in June 2024. Morris' alleged abuse began in 1982 when his accuser, Cindy Clemishire, was 12 years old and Morris was a traveling evangelist staying with her family in Hominy, Oklahoma. Clemishire alleges that the abuse spanned years. She filed a lawsuit last month against Morris, seeking at least $1 million for slander, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress in the years following his abuse. Morris has acknowledged he had been 'sexually immoral' when he was younger, but in the past year has continued to claim his alleged abuse of Clemishire was an 'extramarital affair.' The former pastor, who served on President Donald Trump's spiritual advisory board in 2016 during his first presidential campaign, has filed a lawsuit against Gateway for over $1 million in deferred compensation and intellectual rights to his books, sermons and social media.
CBS News
01-07-2025
- CBS News
Gateway Church cutting services amid decreased attendance and challenges with founder Robert Morris
Gateway Church will eliminate Saturday services at most of its campuses as it continues to navigate its future after founder Robert Morris' resignation amid a child sex abuse investigation, according to information and documents obtained by CBS News Texas. On Tuesday, CBS News Texas learned that Gateway had begun telling volunteers it will start eliminating the Saturday services at the end of the month. In an email obtained by CBS News Texas, the Southlake-based megachurch said the change comes in part due to decreased attendance and the desire to consolidate Sunday services. The church is also dealing with a drop in donations after Morris' resignation. CBS News Texas has reached out to the church for a statement but has not yet received one. Gateway Church announces staff layoffs Gateway previously said it would lay off some staff, which could begin later this month. In a letter to the congregation, Gateway elders said tithing "has not mirrored attendance" due to the issues with Morris. The letter assured members that despite the challenges, the church maintains strong financial and accounting records. But after church leadership evaluated the situation, they determined "restructuring of our staff is necessary, requiring the tough but necessary step of staff reduction." Sexual abuse allegations against Morris In March 2025, Oklahoma prosecutors charged Morris with five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child stemming from the allegations made by the victim, Clemishire. Morris has since pleaded not guilty. Clemishire claims Morris abused her from the age of 12 to 17. Morris was a traveling evangelist in his 20s and had become close to Clemishire's family. When the story broke, Gateway church elders said Morris disclosed to them he'd had an extramarital affair, but not that he had allegedly abused a young girl. Morris and the church had also said that Morris underwent "a two-year restoration process" that included him "stepping out of the ministry during that period." On June 12, Clemishire and her father filed a lawsuit against Morris, his wife and several current and former Gateway leaders, alleging that they knew about Morris' deceit. "For almost 40 years, Robert Morris and the leadership at Gateway have tried to blame me and put this in a flippant light of a relationship instead of what it was-a brutal crime against a 12-year-old child," said Clemishire. "My childhood and the woman I would have become died that day in 1982. The person who abused me and the people who blatantly covered it up deserve to be held accountable. My hope is that bringing awareness to my case will help other victims and survivors feel hope, because the person who did this to me-and the people who enabled him and covered it up for decades-are being held accountable." Legal battle between Gateway and Morris Legal documents filed in May revealed that 63-year-old Morris is demanding millions of dollars in payment and retirement benefits from the church following his 2024 resignation. He stepped away after allegations resurfaced that he sexually abused a 12-year-old girl, identified as Cindy Clemishire, in the 1980s. Church lawyers wrote in the court filing that "amid the chaos of his conduct had unleashed upon Gateway and his community, Morris was laser-focused on securing his financial future." In September 2024, Morris' attorney sent a letter to Gateway that included a demand of more than $1 million that had accrued in Morris's retirement account, and claimed that the elders verbally promised him a retirement benefit of $800,000 per year until he turned 70. However, according to a retirement compensation agreement included in the court filing, the church would pay Morris $170,000 per year for 20 years.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
New lawsuit filed by woman who accused former Gateway leader of sexual abuse
The woman who accused the former lead pastor of Southlake's Gateway Church of sexually abusing her as a child has filed a new lawsuit against the pastor, according to court documents. At the center of the lawsuit, accuser Cindy Clemishire and her father, Jerry Lee Clemishire, claim that former Gateway founder and pastor Robert Morris and the Southlake-based church benefited financially from concealing the alleged abuse, according to the documents. Clemishire and her father are seeking civil damages in excess of $1 million. Clemishire came forward last summer with the allegations that Morris had abused her in the 1980s at her Oklahoma home, the Star-Telegram previously reported. Morris resigned from the church shortly afterward and in March was indicted in Oklahoma on five felony counts of 'lewd or indecent acts to a child' in the Clemishire case. In the suit filed Thursday in Dallas County, the Clemishires claim that Morris and the church dismissed the sexual assault for years, characterizing it as 'nothing more than an inappropriate relationship,' when in reality it was the sexual abuse of a child, according to a statement from the family's lawyers. 'Morris and his co-conspirators dismissed the sexual assault of Clemishire... deceiving thousands of church parishioners and the public with a false narrative that the sexual acts performed on the plaintiff as a minor child were consensual,' the statement reads. The suit also alleges that the church 'knowingly issued false and defamatory statements' shortly after Clemishire came forward with the allegations in June 2024. At the time, church elders said they didn't have all the facts about Clemishire's abuse and did not know she was 12 years old at the time, according to the lawsuit. Several of Gateway's elders, also named as co-defendants in the lawsuit, were removed from the church last fall after an independent investigation found they did have knowledge of Morris' conduct before it was publicly disclosed, the Star-Telegram previously reported. Taken together, the actions of Morris, his family and the church's elders constitute a civil conspiracy aimed at covering up the sexual abuse of Clemishire, according to the lawsuit. 'The accusations make clear 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 [Clemishire,]' a statement from Clemishire's lawyers reads. 🚨 More top stories from our newsroom: → Suspect arrested in Irving cold case murder from 1994 → Here's how much Keller school board lawyer charged taxpayers during split talks → First case of measles confirmed in Dallas County [Get our breaking news alerts.] In May, Morris filed a lawsuit asking Tarrant County courts to force the Southlake megachurch to arbitrate a dispute about his retirement pay, the Star-Telegram previously reported. Morris claimed in that suit that Gateway was using Clemishire's abuse allegations to get out of fulfilling a multi-million dollar financial commitment to him. A Gateway Church spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit Thursday and noted that former spokesperson Lawrence Swicegood, who is named as a defendant in the suit, has not been employed by the church since November 2024. Lawyers for Morris could not immediately be reached for comment.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas Senate advances 'Trey's Law' to ban NDAs in sex abuse settlements
A bill to ban the use of non-disclosure agreements in sexual abuse cases is one step closer to becoming law. Senate Bill 835 by Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, passed the Senate unanimously Thursday. "Trey's Law," as the bill is known, would render nondisclosure or confidentiality agreements unenforceable if they relate to cases of sexual abuse. The proposal will now head to the House, where its companion bill easily passed the lower chamber last month. "While a nondisclosure agreement may have legitimate use for some business agreements, NDAs have also been used to silence sexual abuse victims," Paxton said. "This perverse application protects predators and the entities or institutions whose negligence enabled the abuse, and it facilitates continued abuse by shielding the perpetrator. "Worst of all, perhaps, it takes away the most critical element of a victim's healing — their voice." The bill is named after Trey Carlock, who at age 28 died by suicide in 2019. Carlock suffered 10 years of abuse at the hands of serial pedophile Pete Newman, who was found guilty of molesting at least 57 victims while he was a counselor at Kanakuk Kamps in Branson, Mo. The lingering trauma left Carlock without a lifeline, ultimately leading to his death, his sister Elizabeth Phillips testified in a March House committee hearing. More: Texas House panel advances 'Trey's Law' to ban NDAs in sex abuse settlements Newman was handed two life sentences plus 30 years for abusing six boys at the Christian camp. He was denied parole in October. Carlock signed a nondisclosure agreement as part of a civil settlement with Kanakuk Kamps. "This tool was used by Trey's abuser and Kanakuk Kamps as a tool to silence Trey and to shield their criminal acts, all in exchange for a settlement — truly blood money," Plano Republican Rep. Jeff Leach, who authored the House version of the bill, said as he was laying out the measure April 8. Such an agreement would also have kept Cindy Clemishire from speaking out against her alleged abuser Robert Morris, a former spiritual adviser to President Donald Trump who in North Texas founded one of the largest and most influential megachurches in the U.S. Morris was 20 years old in 1982, when Clemishire alleges the abuse began while he stayed at her family's home in Oklahoma. Clemishire at the time was 12. 'The first time he made the premeditated decision to violate and defile my purity, he told me … 'You can never tell anyone, because it will ruin everything,'' Clemishire told the House panel. In 2007, Morris again tried to silence Clemishire during negotiations over a civil settlement. Morris' attorney offered Clemishire $25,000 in exchange for signing a nondisclosure agreement prohibiting her from speaking out about the abuse that allegedly took place over five years. She refused. Morris, 63, now faces five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child stemming from Clemishire's case. SB 835 will now head to the House. The House will need to vote on the Senate's bill, or the Senate on the House's bill, before the proposal can head to the governor. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Senate advances 'Trey's Law' to ban NDAs in sex abuse settlements
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Yahoo
Oklahoma woman testifies before Texas lawmakers on sexual abuse and non-disclosure agreements
AUSTIN, Texas — An Oklahoma woman who accused former disgraced megachurch preacher Robert Morris of sexual abuse testified before the Texas House of Representatives, asking them to ban the use of 'non-disclosure agreements' in sexual abuse cases. Cindy Clemishire publicly accused Robert Morris in 2024 of sexual misconduct ranging from inappropriate touching to rape by instrumentation. Almost two decades after the alleged abuse, Morris's attorneys offered the Oklahoma woman $25,000 if she would sign a non-disclosure agreement and remain silent. She declined. Texas House Bill 748, also called 'Trey's Law,' and Missouri House Bill 709, would make non-disclosure agreements unenforceable in child sex abuse cases. Clemishire waited 43 years for her voice to be heard. Although her voice trembled and she choked back emotion, her words spoke loudly before the Texas House of Representatives, Judiciary, and Civil Jurisprudence Committee members. 'I am a survivor of child sexual abuse.' Cindy Clemishire, Texas House of Representatives Clemishire spoke of the years of abuse she allegedly suffered involving Morris that started on Christmas night in 1982 when a then-married father was a traveling evangelist and stayed at the Clemishire home while holding revival services in Hominy. Morris, the founder of a Texas-based Gateway Church, one of the largest megachurches in the country, is free on $50,000 bail after being charged in Osage County District Court with five counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child. Clemishire's accusations of sexual assault continued until Clemishire was 17 years old and, in 1987 told her parents about the abuse. Her father told Morris's pastor that if Morris didn't get out of the ministry, he would report him to the police. It was a losing fight for the family. 'The first time he made the premeditated decision to violate and defile my purity, he told me, 'You can never tell anyone because it will ruin everything,'' Clemishire said. 'When I did finally tell someone, it seemed as though Robert Morris was right,' Clemishire said. 'It ruined everything.' Clemishire testified how all the relationships in her life 'took a shift.' 'At 17 years old in 1987, I felt like it was all my fault. As I began the lifelong journey to sort through these emotional challenges, my life seemed to attract more shame while Robert's attracted fame.' Cindy Clemishire Through decades of off-and-on counseling, Clemishire said she has 'found my way to understand child sexual abuse, forgiveness, and healing.' She said that at age 37, through her attorney, Oklahoma Attorney General Genter Drummond, who was in private practice in 2007, she asked Morris for $50,000 to cover past and future counseling. Morris's attorney responded with a letter accusing 'an innocent 12-year-old Cindy of pursuing Robert and making Robert sound like the victim,' she said. Morris offered a $25,000 settlement as long as Clemishre would sign an NDA. 'Because I refused to sign an NDA, my abuser is finally being held accountable for the horrific crimes he committed against me as a child,' Clemishire said. 'Because I refused to sign the NDA at 37, I can sit here at 55 and share my story and be the voice of so many people who don't have the courage – hoping I can help them. Trey Carlock was a victim of child sexual abuse at the Branson-based Kanakuk Kamps. As part of his settlement, he was required to sign a 'restricted NDA.' He died by suicide in 2019 and called his settlement 'blood money,' according to his sister, Elizabeth Carlock Phillips, who also testified before Texas legislatures on Wednesday. In addition to Clemishire and Phillips, Kathryn Robb, director of the Children's Justice Campaign, testified. Morris's next court date is May 9, when a preliminary hearing on the allegations will be set. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
