"I was a 12 year old": Woman accuses Gateway Church founder of molesting her as a child

SOUTHLAKE — Gateway Church, based in Southlake, has one of the country's largest congregations with about 100,000 people attending its nine campuses every weekend.

Its founder and senior pastor Robert Morris reaches even larger audiences in a weekly program broadcast in more than 190 countries.

"It's been pretty devastating," said Cindy Clemishire, of watching his influence grow.

She was 12 years old when, she says, Morris began molesting her .

"How on earth could anyone let him be in leadership when they knew what he did to me?" she asks.

In 1982, Morris was working as a traveling preacher. He and his wife were friends with Clemishire's parents and would often stay at their home.

She says the abuse continued for four and a half years.

"He said, 'you can never tell anyone because it will ruin everything,'" she said.

In a statement released by Gateway Church over the weekend,  Morris admits to what he describes as "inappropriate sexual behavior" with a "young lady" for several years in his twenties.

Clemishire says his words downplay what really happened.

"Young lady? I was not a young lady. I was a 12-year-old," she said.

Morris' admission came after a blog called the Wartburg Watch Friday published Clemishire's account of abuse.

Clemishire said she's spoken about what happened for years, even having an attorney contact the church in 2005 to request reimbursement for counseling, but this was the first time the details have appeared publicly.

"For the first time, it felt a relief that the world was seeing the truth," she said.

In his statement, Morris himself describes encounters that include "kissing and petting… not intercourse".

Under current law, that's still behavior that could qualify as continuous sexual abuse of a young child, a crime punishable by life in prison.

No criminal charges, though, have ever been filed in this case, and it's likely the statute of limitations has run out on any that might have been.

Clemishire says she eventually reported the abuse to her father who demanded Morris step down from his position at Shady Oaks Church, which later became Gateway's Grand Prairie campus.

Morris says, for two years, he did step down.

"The two-year restoration process was closely administered by the Elders at Shady Grove Church and included him stepping out of the ministry during that period while receiving professional counseling and freedom ministry counseling" reads the church's statement.  "Since the resolution of this 35-year-old matter, there have been no other moral failures. Pastor Robert has walked in purity…"

Morris returned to the pulpit in 1989 "with the full blessing of the Elders."

Decades later, Clemishire is still hoping for consequences.

"Oh, I definitely think the consequences are starting. There have to be consequences…" she said.