Pastor Robert Morris admits to ‘inappropriate sexual conduct toward a young lady’ in his 20s; survivor says she was 12

Editor’s Note: This article contains details about child sexual abuse that some readers may find provocative and/or disturbing.

Robert MorrisFounder and pastor of Gateway Church in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, was accused sexually abuse a 12-year-old in the 1980s. Morris was 20 years old at the time of the alleged abuse.

According to the church’s website, Gateway Church is a multi-site church founded in 2000 and averages more than 100,000 people in weekly attendance.

Morris, 62, is not only the church’s senior pastor but also chancellor of King’s University, a private evangelical university in Southlake, Texas. He is the author of nine best-selling books and has a television program that airs in nearly 200 countries and a radio program that airs in more than 6,800 cities.

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Morris has been married to his wife Debbie for 44 years and has three children, all of whom are married. He has nine grandchildren.

On Friday, June 14, The Wartburg Watch released the testimony of Cindy Clemishire, who accused Morris of sexually abusing her at age 12. Clemishire said the abuse began on Christmas Day 1982 and did not end until 1987, when she told her parents.

According to Clemishire, Morris was a traveling evangelist and married to Debbie at the time the abuse began. The couple had a son, Josh.

In 1981 Morris met the Clemishire family on his travels. He regularly preached at their church on Sundays and often stayed at their home. Clemishire said that their families became so close that they traveled together and that she felt “safe” in Morris’s presence.

According to The Wartburg Watch, the “Morris family came to visit one Christmas Eve in 1982 and spent some time there. (Clemishire) was sitting in the back seat of the car with Robert. He asked her to visit him in his room that evening. She shared a room with her sister.”

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Clemishire recalled that Morris allegedly told her to lie on her back after she came into the room with him and that he touched her on her stomach. He told her to close her eyes. He then touched her breasts and felt under her panties.”