Gateway Church, founder Robert Morris face civil suit over alleged abuse cover up

DALLAS - A new lawsuit was filed this week in a Dallas County District court accusing former megachurch evangelist Robert Morris and those who allegedly knew about his alleged sexual acts with a 12-year-old girl of defamation, libel, slander, failure to report, civil conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress and unjust enrichment, in addition to other accusations. 

The plaintiffs listed in the lawsuit are Cindy Clemishire and her father, Jerry Lee Clemishire. 

Cindy was 12 years old when she was first allegedly sexually assaulted and abused by Morris.

She and her father are seeking civil damages in excess of $1 million.

Lawsuit accusations

What we know:

Among the accusations of libel, malice, and defamation, the lawsuit filed this week on behalf of Clemishire names Gateway Church, Morris himself, his wife and sons and multiple church elders who all allegedly knew about the abuse yet actively worked to cover the abuse up. 

The lawsuit states that Morris’ actions "amounted to criminal sexual contact with a child, rape, and continuous sexual abuse of a child," for which Clemishire is entitled to just compensation for damages.

The lawsuit described Morris and his co-conspirators as dismissive of the alleged sexual assault of Clemishire. 

Morris was allegedly describing the incident as nothing more than an "inappropriate relationship," an "indiscretion," "his transgressions," "his moral failures" and an "extramarital relationship."

The filings describe Morris’ actions as deceiving the 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, or even worse, solicited. 

The lawsuit also claims Morris, his wife, the church and the elders all benefited financially from concealing the sexual assault and abuse of Clemishire, all while harming "the Plaintiffs’ reputation and exposing them to public hatred, contempt or ridicule, and financial injury, as well as impeaching their honesty, integrity, virtue and reputation."

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 Plaintiff."

Plaintiff's attorneys

What they're saying:

The Clemishires have hired Foshee and Yaffe (Oklahoma) and Fadduol, Cluff, Hardy & Conaway (Texas and New Mexico) to pursue these claims. 

"We filed this lawsuit on behalf of Ms. Clemishire because, while criminal charges continue to progress, Morris and those who conspired with him deserve to be held civilly accountable for their actions as well," said S. Alex Yaffe, one of Clemishire’s attorneys. "The lawsuit and the crimes alleged speak for themselves, and we look forward to seeing justice served for the Plaintiffs in this case."

"It's really it's the muscle of the civil law that allows survivors to come forward to name their perpetrator to get discovery. Now, discovery is great for everyone. The more we know about a bad acting institution or a hidden sexual predator within our community, the better it is for our children," said Kathryn Robb, the director of the Children's Justice Campaign.

Gateway Church, Robert Morris on lawsuit

The other side:

Gateway Church told FOX 4 in an email that they had no comment.

Robert Morris' attorney did not respond to FOX 4's request for comment.

Robert Morris arrested

The backstory:

Morris resigned from the Gateway Church in June 2024 after allegations of his molestation and sexual assault of Clemishire when she was 12 years old in Hominy, Oklahoma were made public. 

The sexual assaults allegedly occurred between 1982 and 1987 while Morris was a traveling evangelical preacher. 

In March 2025, an Oklahoma Grand Jury indicted Morris on five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child. He is currently out on bond pending trial. 

Morris seeks retirement compensation

In May, Morris filed a lawsuit against Gateway Church, where he admitted a "highly inappropriate" relationship with a 12-year-old girl, but said such behavior does not allow Gateway Church to get out of its contractual financial obligations to Morris as the former pastor of the church.

Gateway Church has said Morris is trying to force the church to pay him millions of dollars in deferred compensation, additional retirement benefits and a severance payment. But the church claims the accusations and criminal charges equate to a breach of contract. The court hearing for arbitration is scheduled for July in Fort Worth, TX. 

Clemishire speaks to state lawmakers

Cindy Clemishire took her story to state lawmakers, calling for legislation to prevent abuse victims from being silenced through non-disclosure agreements.

She said Morris pressured her during a previous settlement negotiation.

The legislation, Senate Bill 835, passed and has been sent to Governor Abbott for approval.

Crime and Public SafetyDallas County