Robert Morris’s lawyer accused the 12-year-old girl of initiating sexual acts

New details are emerging in the case of Robert Morris, a pastor at Gateway Church who resigned from the megachurch he founded last month after allegations that he sexually abused a young girl over several years in 1980 when she was just 12 years old.

NBC News reported today that the victim, Cindy Clemshire, now 54, did indeed hire a lawyer in 2007 and demanded that Morris reimburse her $50,000 to cover her legal fees.

A letter from her lawyer, Gentner Drummond, detailed how Morris manipulated Clemishire into believing their relationship was special and secret.

However, Morris’s lawyer, J. Shelby Sharpe, subsequently alleged that the sexual acts had been initiated by Clemishire, then still a child.

“It was your client who initiated the inappropriate conduct by coming into my client’s bedroom and getting into bed with him, which my client should not have allowed,” Sharpe wrote in a February 2007 letter.

Sharpe’s response also attempted to discredit Clemishire by accusing her of behaving inappropriately with other men and confessing her behavior to a church member. Clemishire has vehemently denied these allegations, saying she was a victim and not the instigator. Clemishire turned down Morris’s counter offer of $25,000 because she was unwilling to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

Sharpe told NBC News he had no recollection of the settlement offer or the demand for a non-disclosure agreement and was no longer representing Morris. He also denied knowing at the time that Clemishire was a child when Morris began engaging in sexual behavior with her. However, the first correspondence Drummond sent him made it clear that Clemishire was 12 when the abuse began.

“I don’t remember ever seeing this,” Sharpe told NBC after a reporter read him the document. “I can tell you that the letters you’ve seen speak for themselves.”

Sharpe also served as personal attorney for Paige Patterson, a leader in the Southern Baptist Convention who is accused of mishandling or concealing allegations of sexual harassment dating back to the 1980s.

The fallout from Clemishire’s latest allegations was not long in coming. Days after her story resurfaced online last month, Morris resigned as pastor. Gateway church elders quickly distanced themselves from Morris, claiming they knew Morris was having an extramarital affair but did not know Clemishire was a child at the time of the abuse. Gateway has hired an outside law firm to further investigate the matter, and several church officials, including Morris’ son James, have taken leave of absence in the meantime.

“The elders of Gateway Church have learned that Pastor Robert’s moral failure more than forty years ago involved a minor,” the Gateway Church Board of Elders and the overseers of Pastor Robert Morris Ministries said in a joint statement posted on the Robert Morris Ministries homepage on Wednesday. “We are deeply saddened and suffer for this woman who carried this burden of abuse for decades. Pastor Robert’s sin and lack of transparency with the elders and church leadership have disqualified him from continuing his role as senior pastor of Gateway Church and as leader of Pastor Robert Morris Ministries. As a result, all future Pastor Robert Morris Ministries radio and television broadcasts have been canceled.”