SOUTHLAKE, Texas — Gateway Church has asked a Dallas County court to dismiss them from a defamation lawsuit filed by Cindy Clemishire and her father, stemming from the church’s response to sexual abuse allegations against its founder and former pastor, Robert Morris.
Morris, who founded Gateway Church in 2000, is accused of sexually abusing Clemishire beginning in 1982, when she was 12 years old. Clemishire went public with her story in June 2024, prompting the church to issue a statement that described Morris’s behavior as “inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady,” without specifying her age.
Following media coverage clarifying the abuse, Morris resigned, and Gateway apologized publicly while commissioning an independent investigation…