Gateway Church removes elders after investigation into allegations of sexual abuse by Robert Morris

SOUTHLOKE, Texas – Gateway Church says it has removed several elders who were aware of it abuse allegations against founder Robert Morris. The Southlake-based church is also cooperating with an ongoing criminal investigation.

Morris resigned from the church in June this year after a woman, Cindy Cleminshire, came forward with claims that Morris sexually abused her between 1982 and 1987, starting when she was 12 years old.

Cleminshire, who is now 54, said she raised her allegations with Gateway Church leaders more than once.

When the claims became public, the Southlake The church’s board of elders said they were not aware that the “young lady” in question might have been 12 years old.

The church has hired the law firm Haynes and Boone to investigate what church elders knew about the claims before June.

The church says six people refused to talk to investigators, including Morris.

The law firm says they discovered there was a group of employees and elders who knew Cleminshire was 12 at the time of the reported abuse and another group who knew about the allegations against Morris but stopped asking questions.

The church says elders who were in either group have been released and other staff members who knew will not be allowed to become elders.

Gateway leaders say the investigation revealed a “cultural failure” in the church.

“We need to be honest with ourselves and recognize that our culture allowed this truth to remain hidden for too long,” said Tra Willbanks, a Gateway Church Elder. “At some point in the past, Gateway’s culture became one in which power was centralized and the leader at the top was surrounded by people who wanted to protect him, some of them at all costs.”

The church says it is rewriting its bylaws and changing its governance structure to prevent similar problems in the future.

Gateway said it found no other allegations of sexual assault against Morris.

Morris is not currently facing charges in connection with the sexual abuse allegations, but the church has revealed that a criminal investigation is underway.

“You should also know that Gateway Church is currently and fully cooperating with an ongoing criminal investigation, the details of which we cannot share with you at this time,” Willbanks said.

Gateway says neither the church itself nor its current leadership are subject to the criminal investigation.

The church says it has received financial demands from Morris, but they have rejected them.