Former Gateway Church pastor believes there was a cover-up of Robert Morris’ child sex abuse

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Friday, July 19, 2024

Stephen LeBlanc, a former Gateway Church pastor in Texas who has known the church’s founder Robert Morris since the 1980s, says he was shocked to learn about recent allegations that Morris sexually abused Cindy Clemishire over multiple years in the 1980s beginning when she was 12.

LeBlanc, who worked at Gateway Church as an executive pastor for three years beginning in 2011 but now leads Sherman Bible Church, told WFAA8 that though he had known Morris since the 1980s and had heard him share details about his immoral past, he was shocked to learn that past included child sex abuse.

"It never in a thousand years would’ve crossed my mind to say, 'Let me ask you, Robert, what was the age of this person?'" LeBlanc said. "It was always framed as indiscretion with a young lady. And when I hear young lady, I don’t think 12-year-old. I don’t think anybody does." 

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Clemishire, now 54, reported last month that Morris began sexually abusing her on Dec. 25, 1982, when she was just 12 years old. She says the abuse continued for four-and-a-half years before it was discovered. But he was later allowed to return to ministry.

In announcing Morris’ resignation on June 18, Gateway Church officials said they also were not aware that Clemishire was a child when the abuse started. Clemishire has disputed the church’s narrative, pointing to legal settlement talks she had with church representatives and Morris in 2005 and 2007.

"The leadership at Gateway received actual notice of this crime in 2005 when I sent an email directly to Robert Morris' Gateway email address. Former Gateway elder, Tom Lane, received and responded to my email, acknowledging that the sexual abuse began on December 25, 1982, when I was 12 years old," Clemishire said in a statement released by her attorney, Boz Tchividjian.

"Again in 2007, my then attorney Gentner Drummond (the current Attorney General of Oklahoma) sent a letter to Robert Morris with the hope that he would help reimburse me for the thousands of dollars I had expended in counseling as a result of this abuse. His attorney acknowledged the dates as well and then attempted to blame me for the abuse," she insisted. "At the very least, both the Gateway pastor and at least one elder had specific notice that I was sexually abused beginning when I was 12 years old. Gateway had the information but intentionally decided to embrace the false narrative Robert Morris wanted to believe."

LeBlanc said he believes that Morris' crime was covered up "previous to Gateway's inception" and "it is highly likely that other people saw those emails" referenced by Clemishire.

"That just seems highly unlikely that no one else knew that," he told WFAA8. "I think that the elders that are still there right now, I believe those men were ignorant of that." 

In the announcement of Morris' resignation in June, Gateway Church elders said they had retained the law firm of Haynes & Boone, LLP, to "conduct an independent, thorough, and professional review of the report of past abuse to ensure we have a complete understanding of the events from 1982-1987."

The Sherman Bible Church leader joined survivor advocates in calling for the removal of a statute of limitations on cases of child sex abuse and urged Gateway Church elders to release recordings of meetings they had about Clemishire's claims and take responsibility for Morris' failures.

"Integrity is not hard to prove if you have integrity," LeBlanc said. "Just let people see it, demonstrate it. Tell the truth, be transparent." 

A spokesperson for Lane told Dallas Morning News last month that Lane did respond to one of Clemishire's emails but stated that Lane was only forwarded a message by Morris' assistant that didn't mention Clemishire's age. 

In a June 21 statement, Lane said he was unaware of the "severity and specifics" of the allegations and was led at the time to believe it involved consensual infidelity with a "young lady."

Lane said it was his understanding at the time that Morris underwent a two-year restoration period overseen by the elders of Shady Grove Church in Grand Prairie. So when Clemishire came forward in 2005, Lane said he believed the necessary restoration actions had already taken place and the situation was "appropriately resolved." 

"Given the facts that have now emerged, it is evident that more could have been done to support and protect Cindy, and for that, I am deeply sorry," Lane said.