Robert Morris allegedly asked Cindy Clemishire to name price for silence on sex abuse
Two days after Cindy Clemishire confronted Gateway Church founder Robert Morris in 2005 about how he sexually abused her starting when she was 12, he accused her of attempting to blackmail him, then asked her to name her price after she demanded he pay for what he had done to her as a child. Clemishire ultimately said she wanted Morris to pay $2 million in restitution.
Morris, who never paid off Clemishire, recently resigned from Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, after the now 54-year-old grandmother revealed that he sexually abused her over multiple years in the 1980s, beginning when she was 12.
Clemishire, who said she has been grappling with the psychological impact of the abuse for decades, revealed in selected emails shared with The Christian Post how she first reached out to Morris in 2005 about the abuse.
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The emails show that after Clemishire reached out to Morris via his Gateway Church email, Tom Lane, then executive senior pastor of Gateway Church, invited her to talk to him in a response in April 2005. Clemishire insisted, however, that she wanted to only talk to Morris.
On April 13, 2005, Lane responded in an email stating that Morris, his wife, Debbie, along with the elders of Gateway Church, wanted her to “find help and healing” from Morris’ “indiscretion.”
“First, I wanted to let you know that Robert has been completely open with the Elders of Gateway Church about his past and specifically about his indiscretion with you. Throughout the years, Robert has been open and accountable, doing what he could to find healing and restoration in his life. At the time of the indiscretion, Robert submitted to a two year process that included stepping out of vocational ministry,” Lane wrote.
“This healing process included meeting with you and your parents to ask forgiveness. He undertook other steps as he was directed by the Elders of Shady Grove Church. He continues to walk in a humble attitude of accountability today with the Elders of Gateway Church,” he added. “As he has previously stated on several occasions, Robert deeply regrets what took place and has repented to God, and you, along with your parents and sister, and to the Elders of both Shady Grove Church and Gateway Church.”
In a separate email dated Sept. 9, 2005, Clemishire told Morris: “I am giving you one last chance to call me. You really have no idea how devastating it will be if you don't. I don't want Tom or anyone else to contact me. This is your issue not his.”
Morris responded on Sept. 16, 2005, in an email saying, “I'm praying about my response to your email. I will respond to you by a week from today.”
On Sept. 20, 2005, Clemishire reached out to Morris again, asking that he call her. When he asked her in a reply that same day to explain what she meant when she said it was time for him to “step up to the plate” and bless her, she explained that he needed to be held accountable for what he did.
“Men that have over 100 counts of child molestation go to prison. Men who pastor churches that have over 100 counts of child molestation go to prison and pay punitive damages. You have not had to do either. I do not believe that is fair or right. You have had almost no consequences for your actions. I have suffered almost my entire life from the emotional damage you inflicted on me,” Clemishire wrote.
“If you want to know what I want, call me. Otherwise, I will proceed with what has been advised. Twenty-three years after you began destroying my life, I am still dealing with the pain and damage you caused. I want some type of restitution. Pray about it and call me.”
Two days later, on Sept. 22, 2005, Morris and his wife called the then 35-year-old Clemishire and discussed the abuse on a call, a transcript of which was leaked to NBC News and published on Thursday.
The transcript, titled, “Transcription of recorded phone conversation with Cindy Clemishire” was leaked by a former member of Gateway’s IT department. It was reportedly discovered more than a decade ago while transferring files from Morris’ computer to a new laptop. The worker was not identified in the report.
“Okay, tell us what you need to tell us,” Morris said, according to the transcript.
Clemishire reportedly pointed to her previous emails and told him unless he paid for what he did to her, she would seek criminal charges or go public with her story.
“Well, I don’t think money is going to help you,” Morris replied.
“Who said it was going to help me?” Clemishire interjected. “It is certainly helping you.”
Morris reportedly told her that it wasn’t the money that was helping him but his efforts in trying to serve the Lord.
“What is helping me is that since this time I have tired (sic) to do the right thing and tried to serve the Lord,” Morris said.
Morris and his wife told Clemishire that they loved her, but Clemishire replied that she wasn’t happy that he hadn't suffered any consequences for abusing her.
“Two years out of the ministry big deal,” she said. “I just have a real problem the fact that you have gone untouched by this.”
As they spoke on the call, Clemishire tried to explain that she wasn’t trying to blackmail him.
“I am not trying to blackmail you,” Clemishire said. “I am not trying to say you pay me or this is what I am going to do.”
“Ok,” Morris said, “do you want to put an amount on it then?”
“It is not a small number,” Clemishire said. “Money doesn’t make you happy and I can understand that. So that is not what this is about.”
When Morris pressed her again to “put a price on it” Clemishire told him “Two Million Dollars.”
Morris ended the conversation a moment later.
In an email on Oct. 3, 2005, Morris told Clemishire that his lawyer advised him not to pay her any money “under a threat of exposure” and said her father had asked him not to publicly reveal what he did to her.
“Debbie and I really do care for you, and we sincerely want God's best for you. You see the blessings God has poured out on my life and conclude that it is because I have hidden my past. God does not work that way. He will not be mocked by deceit. I confessed my sins to you and your family 18 years ago and I have continued to share it with those who need to know as per the counsel of your father. I did what he asked me to do,” Morris said.
“I thought I obtained your forgiveness as well as your family's. If you desire to make this public, I am also willing to do so. I would consult with your father first since he asked me not to share it publicly years ago. You should talk to your father also about disclosing the matter beyond those who already know since he has your best interest at heart and his counsel should, at the least, be considered, if not honored,” Morris added. “My attorney advises that if I pay you any money under a threat of exposure, you could be criminally prosecuted, and Debbie and I do not want that. If you need more information, have your attorney contact mine.”
When asked why she didn’t just have Morris criminally prosecuted at the time she reached out to him, Clemishire told CP on Friday that she was told the statute of limitations for the abuse had expired.
When asked if she believed Morris when he said her father had asked him not to reveal the abuse publicly, she said she didn’t.
“No, I do not believe him,” Clemishire told CP. “I do not ever remember my father requesting RM (Robert Morris) not to share about it. Why would my father ask that of him? RM was the one at risk if it went public.”
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