A Dallas judge denied requests from two former Gateway Church elders asking to be dismissed from a defamation lawsuit filed by the woman who was sexually abused by founding pastor Robert Morris.
During a court hearing Friday, Judge Emily Tobolowsky immediately denied the motion after arguments by the attorney for elders Kevin Grove and Steve Dulin and an attorney for Cindy Clemishire.
Clemishire declined to comment after Friday鈥檚 hearing.
In June 2024, Clemishire accused Morris of sexually abusing her when she was 12 years old and he was 22 during the 1980s. She said the abuse lasted for more than four years.
Morris pleaded guilty to five counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child in October and was sentenced to 10 years at Osage County Jail in Oklahoma, where the abuse took place. He鈥檚 serving six months of that time, will pay out $270,000 to Clemishire and register as a lifetime sex offender.
Gateway a month after the accusations from Clemishire. Grove was one of four elders removed following a four-month internal probe into the Southlake megachurch that revealed they knew about the abuse.
Last June, Clemishire and her father sued Gateway, its elders, Morris, his wife, and his charity group over statements elders made about the abuse, allegedly covering it up for years and financially benefiting from it.
Elders released a statement on June 14, 2024, acknowledging Morris鈥� sexual abuse. It also said he had been involved in 鈥渋nappropriate sexual behavior鈥� with a 鈥測oung lady,鈥� and that her family forgave him.
Clemishire has argued those statements downplayed the assault.
Charles Kibler, attorney for the elders, said during Friday鈥檚 hearing Clemishire鈥檚 claims in her suit had a lot of 鈥渆motional baggage鈥� and had no evidence either elder was involved in the statement released by Gateway elders after she came forward about the abuse.
And, Kibler said there鈥檚 no proof the 2024 statement was 鈥渦ntruthful.鈥�
鈥淲as she not a 鈥榶oung lady鈥�?鈥� Kibler told Tobolowsky. 鈥淲ouldn't we call her young? I'm sure that your honor was called a 鈥榶oung lady鈥� when she was a similar age. I know I was called 鈥榶oung man鈥� when I was in my early days. Is that incorrect? Is that untruthful? It may not have been what the plaintiff wanted to hear. They may want to hear words like rape and statutory rape. But that doesn't make the term 鈥榠nappropriate relationship鈥� untruthful.鈥�
Kibler, who also declined to comment after the hearing, said what elders did or didn鈥檛 know about Morris鈥� history is 鈥渋rrelevant.鈥�
Drew York, one of Clemishire鈥檚 attorneys, argued elders acknowledged it was a false statement and defamatory when they apologized in another statement four days later, saying they 鈥渄id not have all the facts鈥� about Morris鈥� abuse, including the victim鈥檚 age and the length of the abuse.
York said calling Clemishire a young lady when she was 12 was 鈥減atently false.鈥�
鈥淣o reasonable person would have viewed the statement as anything more than an extramarital affair, not that it was actual rape,鈥� York said.
York also called it a 鈥減lan for emotional distress鈥� when elders met with Morris to make statement.
Tobolowsky has also denied motions by Gateway, Morris, church elders John D. "Tra" Willbanks, Kenneth Fambro, Gayland Lawshe and Dane Minor to be dismissed from the suit.
The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals also denied a request for a rehearing from Morris and his wife on Wednesday.
A trial is set for June 2026.
Penelope Rivera is 四虎影院's Tarrant County Accountability Reporter. Got a tip? Email Penelope Rivera at privera@kera.org.
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