Woman who accused Gateway Church founder of sexual abuse says recovery has been ‘lifelong’
A woman who says she was sexually abused by Pastor Robert Morris as a teen is finally living without shame.
Cindy Clemishire still has the Christmas gift her grandmother gave her when she was 12.
The white fur parka with a poofy hood and shiny pink lining hung in her parents’ closet for decades.
The day she got the coat, Clemishire says, Robert Morris began sexually abusing her. She says the abuse lasted four and a half years.
Now 54 and living in Jones, Okla., Clemishire spent decades watching Morris, the founder and longtime senior pastor of Gateway Church, become a nationally known evangelical celebrity.
Over nearly 25 years, Southlake-based Gateway grew to 100,000 members and nine D-FW campuses, according to the church. Morris served as an adviser to former President Donald Trump, wrote the influential book The Blessed Life and hosted a TV program that aired in over 190 countries, according to Morris.
Clemishire debated whether to talk about Morris’ abuse for years. She almost went on Dr. Phil in 2004 at her sister’s encouragement, but she says she didn’t feel ready.
This year, she met someone through friends that she trusted to tell her story. She felt God telling her it was the right time, she says, and she went public in June in an interview with the Christian blog The Wartburg Watch. Then came interviews with local news outlets and The Christian Post. The world watched as the grandmother of four described being molested by Morris — more than 100 times.