Robert Morris Accuser Says Jesus Got Her Through: 'I Have Never Stopped Praying'

Allegations that Gateway Church founder Robert Morris molested a 12-year-old girl in the 1980s sent shockwaves throughout Christian circles and the media last month. 

Two days after admitting to "an inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady," Morris resigned from Gateway Church. His accuser, Cindy Clemishire, claims she was anything but a "young lady" when the incident occurred. 

"It was a crime," she said. "I was a little girl."

Clemishire, now a 54-year-old mom and grandma, told CBN News it took years for her to fully grasp what she endured.

"I was 12," she said. "I was not a teenager yet. And I told when I was 17 — and it did go all the way through ... the full year of being 16."

Clemishire continued, "He told me the very first time, 'You can't tell anyone because it will ruin everything,' and, as a 12-year-old, I had no idea what that meant. And, as I ... grew and got older, I still didn't really know what it meant, because, when I told, I felt like it ruined everything in my life. It ruined everything in my family's life."

Morris' accuser said she has shared her story with friends, family, and those willing to listen for years despite some inner conflict. 

"Like most believers, you don't want to do anything that's going to tarnish the name of God," she said. "You don't want to tarnish the church. You don't want to hurt other believers. You don't want to, you know, cause another person to not come to Jesus. And so I never wanted it to be a big deal, exposing ... I just wanted someone in leadership, somewhere, {to} take him out of the pulpit, because we did not feel as a family that that's where he should be."

Even after hearing her story many years ago, Clemishire claimed no leader would take action.

"Anytime he would speak in a church that we were associated with or going to ... either I would, or my parents, or my sister would go and confront leadership, and talk to them, and explain to them what happened to our family and to me," Clemishire said. "And not once has any leadership stood up and said, 'This isn't biblical. You should not be in leadership.'"

All of that changed last month when her story went viral, leading to the Morris resignation. 

Clemishire said she doesn't believe anyone should be in the pulpit if that person was a Christian when such sexual abuse or sexual immorality unfolded.

"I believe in forgiveness," she said. "I believe that Robert can still repent. ... I don't believe there's been repentance, because it's been continued deceit, but that's between him and the Lord."

Clemishire said too much time has passed to pursue legal remedies against Morris. Regardless, she hopes her story will help other victims find healing. 

"I do know I want to help other victims," she said. "I want people to be free of shame and ... it's a lifelong journey."
Additionally, Clemishire has a strong position on changing the laws to help people who face situations that fall outside the statute of limitations. 

"We need to change the statute of limitations across the country, not just in my state or Texas," she said. "I live in Oklahoma. It happened in both. ... I want to be active in any way I can with changing the laws to protect the victims and not the predators."

Through it all, Clemishire said she has never given up hope.

"I have never stopped praying," she said. "I've never stopped reading my Bible. I mean, it truly has been about my relationship with Jesus. I don't know how anybody could get through any of this without that."

Foundation United founder Elizabeth Good, an expert in addressing sexual abuse, said this revelation is an important cautionary tale for all churches.

"As high level of a platform that Robert had, we would all stop and pause and say, 'Are we doing everything possible with what we do?'" Good said.

Good's organization focuses on training church leaders to have important conversations about abuse to stop predators and help victims.

"A child that's violated young, they will go one or two ways," she said. "They're going to keep it inside and they'll become victim, victim, victim. Or, something snaps and they're like, 'Never again. Not me.'"

Good continued, "And if we're not talking about it in the church, we are the one system with all the power to change everything. We have to take the lead in this narrative."

It's important to note that Morris' statement did not mention the name or age of the person with whom he admitted to inappropriate sexual behavior. While he has remained silent since leaving Gateway, the church hired a law firm to conduct what it calls a "thorough and independent inquiry" to discover the truth.

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