Temporary changes are being made in Gateway Church leadership following the of its senior pastor and founder, Robert Morris, accused of sexually abusing a then-12-year-old girl in the 1980s.
After the allegations made headlines in late June, Gateway Church hired law firm Haynes and Boone to look into the matter. The firm recommended that any Gateway Church elder with a potential conflict of interest take a temporary leave of absence from the board, including any elder with a relational conflict or who served on the board between 2005 and 2007.
Three church elders 鈥� Kevin Grove, Steve Dulin and Gayland Lawshe 鈥� are to take a temporary leave of absence, per the firm鈥檚 recommendation. Robert Morris鈥� son and church elder James Morris will step down from the board temporarily. However, James Morris and the other elders can continue to serve as staff members at the church, according to the board鈥檚 June 28 .
The firm is just beginning their work into conducting an 鈥渋ndependent and comprehensive inquiry related to recent events,鈥� the reads. The inquiry has faced criticism from Cindy Clemishire, who Morris of sexually abusing her when she was 12 years old.
The unfolding saga at Gateway has prompted national conversations about how faith leaders should be held accountable 鈥� both legally and institutionally 鈥� for abuse within the church.
One way a church can hold accountability is by bringing in an independent organization trained in abuse dynamics to conduct an investigation, said Pete Singer, executive director of Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment. However, the first step prior to that should be to go to legal authorities.
鈥淵ou must report to law enforcement. You must report to child protection,鈥� Singer said. 鈥淓ven if there isn鈥檛 a legal mandate, there鈥檚 often a moral or an ethical mandate that says you have to report.鈥�
Who is a mandated reporter in Texas?
By , everyone in Texas is required to report knowledge of suspected child abuse or neglect.
Individuals in roles where abuse may be disclosed, including mental health professionals, social workers and clergy, are not exempt from reporting it to authorities, according to the .
Reports of abuse should go to two agencies: the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and local or state law enforcement. Child Protective Services, a division of the state鈥檚 family and protective services department, is responsible for conducting civil investigations into alleged abuse. Law enforcement is responsible for criminal investigations.
Clemishire, now a 54-year-old Oklahoman woman, Morris of sexually abusing her for over four years in , starting in 1982 when she was 12 years old.
Clemishire said in a released by her attorney that she had confronted Morris and the church in 2005 via email and then by letter in 2007, when she went through an attorney to seek reimbursement for counseling.
Anyone who knowingly fails to make a report could receive a Class A misdemeanor, according to Texas law. The offense can become a state jail felony for anyone intending to conceal the abuse.
People have to believe in the phrase and culture of 鈥渟ee something, say something鈥� for mandatory reporting to work, said Stefan Turkheimer, vice president for public policy for the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.
It can also be challenging for minors to disclose their abuse when the alleged offender is in a position of power over them or a community, Turkheimer said.
The complete statement by Cindy Clemishire in response to today鈥檚 announcement by .
— BozLaw P.A. (@bozlawpa)
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to disclose in a situation where it affects not just you and the pastor, but the entire community and your family. So that鈥檚 another reason why people don鈥檛 come forward when they鈥檙e children,鈥� Turkheimer said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 also the point about why mandatory reporting is important, because sometimes, sometimes the kid can鈥檛 do it on their own.鈥�
Criminal, civil legal implications
Frequently, children will report abuse years down the line because it can take time to process what happened, said Liz Boyce, general counsel and policy director for the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault.
Some state laws give a window of time for a state to charge the alleged abuser. The rules that determine this time frame are called criminal statutes of limitations and can vary by state.
Currently in Texas, there are no statue of limitations for criminal charges of continuous sexual abuse of a child, defined as someone under the age of 17, according to . A previous iteration of the law, which required that someone report within a 10-year window from the victim鈥檚 18th birthday, was removed in 2007. For a civil case, the window is 30 years from when the victim turned 18 years old.
However, the law is , meaning a person who was protected by a previous statute of limitations cannot be prosecuted because the law changed to increase the time of exposure.
It can be challenging to determine if there is a legal case, Turkheimer said, because lawyers have to determine how many years have passed, where the alleged abuse occurred and what state laws 鈥� and its previous iterations 鈥� say about it.
鈥淭he reality is that getting justice for a survivor shouldn鈥檛 be a math problem, but it often is,鈥� Turkheimer said.
It would be challenging for Clemishire to file a lawsuit, Boyce said. However, it鈥檚 not the only path Clemishire could take.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 not to say she can鈥檛 use her voice in other ways, right, to come forward to support different policies that could help others,鈥� Boyce said.
Education, resources
Educational resources that encourage conversations about how to identify abuse and grooming can help prevent feelings of shame around the topic, said Katharine Collier Esser, assistant director of research and training services for The Women鈥檚 Center.
鈥淚t is so important to talk about because this is a crime that hides in secrets, and grooming thrives with secrecy,鈥� Esser said. 鈥淏ut grooming is not just about grooming the victim or potential victim. It鈥檚 also grooming the community, so that (even) if that child is brave enough and says something, they will be met with doubt.鈥�
Esser is a licensed professional counselor and supervisor who oversees Play it Safe!, a sexual abuse prevention and training program for children between ages 4 and 18.
The program, offered through The Women鈥檚 Center, teaches kids to recognize potentially abusive behavior, respond to threatening situations and report abuse. Since 1983, more than 2 million children in North Texas have learned about personal safety from the program.
Esser has been invited to provide the program in schools and churches. If abuse isn鈥檛 discussed in sacred places, like churches, it can lead to other forms of trauma, she said.
鈥淲hat ends up happening is then people start experiencing spiritual trauma in addition to the sexual abuse trauma,鈥� she said.
Forgiveness, repentance
Robert Morris said in an internal June 14 statement sent by church elders to Gateway staff, , that Morris confessed and repented in March 1987 and asked for forgiveness from Clemishire鈥檚 family.
鈥淭his sin was dealt with correctly by confession and repentance, which I did in 1987 and 1989,鈥� Morris said.
Gateway鈥檚 board of elders later released a statement on June 18 that they 鈥渄id not have all the facts of the inappropriate relationship between Morris and the victim, including her age at the time and the length of her abuse.鈥�
Repentance is a detailed process rather than a quick act of forgiveness, Singer said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 also important to know that if a person has truly repented, the best thing that we can do is not to be soft on that person,鈥� Singer said. 鈥淭he best thing that we can do is to walk alongside them as they go through the consequences that they earned.鈥�
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence, it鈥檚 not your fault. You are not alone. Help is available 24/7 through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE or visit the , y en espa帽ol en .
Marissa Greene is a Report for America corps member, covering faith for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at marissa.greene@fortworthreport.org or . At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy .
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