Gateway Church Founder Robert Morris Makes Appearance in Court, Pleads Not Guilty To Sexual Assault
Disgraced former Gateway Church Pastor Robert Morris, who once led the largest church in America, made a brief appearance in court yesterday, where his lawyer pled ‘not guilty’ on his behalf.
Morris has been indicted on five counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child and is facing a maximum of 100 years in prison, with each count carrying up to 20 years.
In 1982, pastor Robert Morris began molesting 12-year-old Cindy Clemishire, initiating sexual contact with her that would continue for the next four and a half years while telling her, “You can never tell anyone because it’ll ruin everything.” In 2005, she contacted him about the abuse, which his wife, Debbie, was fully aware of. He instead sought to buy her silence, according to the phone call transcripts.
Marking his first public appearance since he resigned following the initial disclosure, the court hearing was also the first time he and his accuser, Cindy Cleminshire, were seen under the same roof since the crime. They did not communicate or talk to each other, and Morris declined to comment when he left the courtroom.
A day before, Clemshire was in Texas testifying to state senators about a new proposed law that would ban the use of NDAs in some instances involving abuse, ensuring perpetrators can’t use them as a cudgel against their victims.
Morris’ next hearing is scheduled for Sept. 4
Gateway Church has faced significant scrutiny since Morris’s resignation, with several staff members leaving and internal investigations leading to changes in leadership. Morris is also facing a lawsuit over his “money back guarantee” on his congregation’s tithes, and a recently leaked video from Gateway elders indicates that the church has lost as much as 35-40% of its income in the wake of the scandal.
It remains to be seen if legal action will be taken against any of the Gateway church elders who were found via a Gateway-commissioned internal investigation to have been aware of the accusations against Morris yet failed to report the information to authorities.
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